Living Hell
by Rockyrocks919
Summary: What could I possibly do? If I told anyone, James would literally kill me. If I didn't, I'd have to get used to the beatings everytime he lost his temper. Edward was already suspicious, but he was the one I was most worried about finding out. What would he do if he knew I had an abusive boyfriend? My life had become a living hell and as far as I could see, there was no way out. AH
1. Prologue

Okay, so I'm editing and rewriting this story since I didn't do a great job with details and writing the part that leads up to the climax. Let me know what you think!

Just to clear up any confusion before it starts, no one is a vampire, everyone is just a normal human. And also, none of them have any powers, like Edward can't read minds. Oh and I plan to make the other chapters longer, this is just an introduction to what's going on.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

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"No! Please!" I shouted at my angry boyfriend as he was about to bang me over the head with the first thing he could put his hands on, which just so happened to be a glass plate. I ducked as he swung at me but luckily didn't hit. Yet. How had I ever been so stupid as to be fooled by this guy? I mean, he was always so sweet to me when we first met, but now I knew the real James.

He had a temper issue, which I learned the hard way. Why did I even put up with him? Because I was afraid that if I didn't, he would treat me even worse. I could handle a few beatings every now and then, but I was almost positive he would literally torture me to death if I ever told anyone.

Why didn't Charlie do anything? Simple- he didn't know anything. Every time James got angry and hurt me, there was always some story behind it. Normally, he left after it happened to not arise suspicion. It was always "I fell down the stairs" or "I slipped on some ice and banged my head on the counter." Occasionally, Charlie would seem suspicious that something out of the ordinary was going on, but I always reassured him and James was never a suspect.

I ducked again as the plate came back around and he missed again, which didn't make him too happy. James grabbed my upper arm, digging his nails into my skin, and jerked me up. I yelped as he slammed the plate into my head and felt myself crumpling to the ground. Was I dead? I wish. If only the blow had knocked me unconscious as so many others had, just so I wouldn't feel the pain.

I felt James kicking into my side as he let out all of his frustration on me. I had a flashback of the first time we met two months ago...

_It was Monday, the twenty second of January, I was sitting at the lunch table with all of my friends: Alice, Emmett, Jasper, and also Rosalie, though she didn't like me much. And last, but definitely not least, my best friend Edward. We'd know each other since we were seven; it's been ten years now._

_Everyone was laughing at a joke Emmett had made when I noticed the new kid. He was sitting all by himself on the other side of the cafeteria. His shaggy blonde hair dangled in his blue eyes as he ate his hamburger. I felt a surge of sympathy for him; he looked like the quiet type who had a difficult time making friends._

_"Hey," I said and everyone turned their attention to me. "I'm going to go talk to the new kid." I paused, waiting for someone else to offer to come with me, but no one did. We weren't exactly the most social group and usually stayed to ourselves, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to help someone out. Once I was certain that no one else would be coming with me, I stood and picked up my tray, heading for his table._

_"Hi," I said and the guy looked up. "Mind if I sit here?" He shook his head and I sat down across from him._

_"I'm Bella, by the way." I said extending my hand._

_"James," he answered, shaking my hand eagerly. He seemed excited to have already made a friend on only his first day._

_"I know being the new kid can be hard, so I can help you out, if you want. You know, show you where your classes are, maybe introduce you to some people." James's face lit up at that._

_"I'd like that," he said._

So James started hanging out with us, well mostly me actually; the others seemed a bit reluctant to make friends with him. Especially Edward. A few days later, James had asked me out, and then we became a couple. Edward had never liked James and every once and a while, he'd say there was something wrong with him, that he seemed different somehow. That he was bad news. I'd always gotten offended by Edward's comments and eventually, once he realized I was going to stay with James, he just let me be.

If only I'd listened to Edward before it was too late. James grabbed my arm and jerked me up to my feet. I was covered in glass and some of it had cut my skin. I saw him look at his watch.

"Charlie will be home any minute now; get cleaning!" I grabbed a broom as James started up on his next story idea to explain the new gash I had on my forehead.

"So you were so caught up in your book that you tripped and your forehead was cut open by, um... No. You were outside, watering some plants, when some kid's boomerang comes and hits you in the forehead. Yeah! That'll work! Now, I've got to get out of here." He picked up his backpack and headed for the door.

"See you tomorrow, babe." He slammed the door on his way out and I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched him go. I swept up the glass as quickly as I could, then moved into the bathroom to examine my forehead. It wasn't too bad; I'd had worse. I picked up a clean wash rag and started cleaning the gash. Oh yeah, this was nothing compared to what he could have done.

My life had become a living hell. And, as far as I could tell, there was no way out.

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Thanks for reading! Review! Please and thanks! :) Oh and check out my other stories!


	2. Chapter 1

Here's chapter two! Enjoy. :)

Read the bottom for info about the **contest!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

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"You've really got to be more careful, Bella," Charlie told me at breakfast the next morning, eyeing my forehead. "It seems like every time I come home, you have bruises or scrapes or cuts."

"I know, Dad" I said, trying to keep calm. If James found out about this, I couldn't even imagine what I'd have to go through this time. "You know me; with my clumsiness, this is normal."

"If you're blaming this on being clumsy, then you've been a lot clumsier in the past month or so than in your entire life. This isn't normal and I'm worried about you, Bells. I want to know what's up."

"Nothing is up, Dad," I said through a mouth full of eggs, trying hard to be calm. James would find out about this. I wasn't sure how, but he always seemed to know every time when someone became suspicious and I had to pay for it. Charlie pushed his now clean plate away from him and stood.

"All right. I don't believe it, but obviously you aren't going to tell me anything." He put on his police gear and headed for the door. "Bye, Bella. Please stay out of trouble."

I watched the door close behind him and felt the tears in my eyes as I thought about what I'd have to go through today for Charlie's suspicions. I stood up, no longer hungry, and dumped the rest of my scrambled eggs into the trash can. I took both mine and Charlie's plates, rinsed them, and put them into the dishwasher.

I always did the dishes when James wasn't there to make sure there wasn't something that I could easily be beaten with out in the open. Unfortunately, last night he had come when I was about to eat dinner, so the plate was just sitting there on the counter. There was a knock on the door and I went to get it. Edward was standing in the doorway with a frown on his face.

"What happened this time?" he asked, looking at my forehead.

"Boomerang accident," I answered nervously. I glanced around, looking for where James might be hiding. He was probably out there some where and had heard the nervousness in my voice. Edward's hand grabbed my chin and turned it gently to face him. With his other hand, he wiped tears off of my cheeks.

"Bella," he whispered. "It's all right. You can tell me what's going on. I promise you that everything will be okay." I felt more tears fall freely down my cheeks and I shook my head. Edward was always suspicious of what was happening; most of my beatings had been enhanced because of that. I felt his soft fingers wiping more tears away and he threw his arms around me. I wanted so desperately to just stay there in his arms forever, but I knew I couldn't. I pulled myself together and stepped back.

"Come on," I urged him, picking up my backpack from the floor. "We're going to be late if we don't leave soon." He looked into my eyes and I avoided his gaze.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked.

"Peachy. Now, come on!" I walked past him and went straight for his Volvo. Before I could open the door, Edward did so for me.

"You're such a gentleman," I joked when we were both inside, trying to lighten the mood. I watched as he started up the car, realizing that he was deep in thought. That couldn't be good. I turned on the radio and couldn't help but laugh when Funkytown blared through the speakers. Edward cracked a smile as well and we started singing along.

"Well, I talk about it, talk about it, talk about it, talk about it," we sang together in high-pitched voices. Edward sounded ridiculous and we were both laughing hysterically by the time we pulled up at school. It was moments like this that made the hard times easier to deal with. Knowing that I had awesome friends who cared about me almost made up for having an abusive boyfriend. Almost.

"Hey, did you finish the Pre-Cal homework?" Edward asked as we walked up to the school.

"Oh, great," I face palmed myself. "I forgot." It was partially true. I had planned on doing it, until James showed up last night, that is. After that, I didn't think much about homework and probably wouldn't have done it, anyway.

"It's all right, it was easy. I'll help you finish it at lunch."

"Thanks," I told him. It was nice having math in fourth period so I could have extra time for homework. A few minutes later, we passed James and his friends in the hall. I tried to pretend I didn't see them, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward glaring at him. He did that every time they saw each other. I guess it was supposed to be a warning, like "You hurt my best friend, I'll hurt your face." Edward knew karate and I had no doubt he'd beat the living daylights out of James if he knew what really happened. It wasn't that I didn't want this. Honestly, I would love to watch him get what he deserves, but I couldn't bring myself to tell Edward. He'd find some way to blame himself and then James would come back to get revenge on me. It just wasn't worth it.

"And down the hall comes Edward and Bella," Alice announced in a reporter voice from where she and my other friends were standing around the corner. "Edward is sporting a very lazy, laid back look today and Bella looks great, as usual, except for that strange brown stain on her shirt." I looked down and saw that there was, indeed, a strange stain on my shirt. It was probably from ice cream or coffee and luckily was small, but I didn't like that Alice had to point it out to everyone. She continued, "Wouldn't they make just the cutest babies?"

"Alice," Edward complained as we came to a stop in front of them. I was blushing, but decided not to say anything. Alice had kind of figured out about my not so secret crush on her brother and has been trying to get us together since. She knew that James and I were supposedly together, but that didn't stop her from teasing us every chance she got. It made it even worse that we were the only two in our group of friends who hadn't hooked up. Rosalie and Emmett got together back in middle school and Alice and Jasper became a couple in their freshman year, though they had driven us all nuts with their flirting long before.

"Well, it's true," Alice stated as we walked down the hall. She started going on about how perfect we were for each other and how getting together with your best friend was every girl's fairytale. I looked back to see that Emmett and Rosalie were staying in the spot where we found them, just talking and laughing. They didn't have to listen to Alice's ranting. Lucky them.

"Can't you make her stop?" I asked Jasper, who was walking a little behind his girlfriend. He smiled back at me.

"Can anyone get Alice to stop once she's started?" he asked. Good point.

"Hey," Edward whispered in my ear. "What do you say we ditch the matchmaker?" I looked up to see a smile on his face. I smiled back at him.

"Ditch your little sister?" I asked quietly. "You sound so evil. I like it." His grin got bigger and he grabbed my arm, pulling me down another hall. I caught a glimpse of Jasper before the other two were out of sight and saw him shaking his head and smiling at us. Edward and I stayed quiet until we were sure that we were far enough away from his sister. Then, we both stopped walking and cracked up laughing.

"You know, she's going to get back at us later," I told him. "She'll probably lock us in a room and talk for hours."

"Eh, who cares?" He shrugged. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. At least we aren't with her now." We laughed again and I looked up, realizing I had subconsciously moved closer to him, our faces now only inches apart. _You two are so cute together, _Alice's words rang in my mind. _Perfect for each other. _Edward and I were staring at each other and I realized that we were both leaning in. We were only centimeters apart, our lips about to touch when the bell rang, making us both jump.

"Um, I should get to class," I muttered, looking away uncomfortably.

"Uh, yeah," Edward said. "I'll see you later." We both rushed in separate directions and I couldn't believe what had happened. I almost kissed my best friend. Oh my God! I almost kissed him! I wasn't sure what I should feel. Relieved? Embarrassed? Excited? Then I caught a glimpse of my "boyfriend" talking to his friends and was brought back to reality. He wasn't going to be too happy if anything happened between me and Edward. Still, I couldn't stop the smile that came to my face.

I almost kissed Edward!

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Omg she almost kissed Edward! :O Hehe :) This is a bit of a twist from what I originally had, but I like it much better :)

***CONTEST!* **So, if you guys read any of my other stories, you might notice that I'm starting to do this for like all of them. I love reviews as much as everyone else, and I don't really want to bribe you guys, but I thought of an idea that can be beneficial to everyone :)

So, at the moment this story has 50 reviews. Whoever leaves the 60th review will get their choice of having me write a oneshot for them of something that I have to approve of (I can't write about something I haven't read :P) or they will choose one of my stories that they really want me to update and I will post another chapter or two ASAP. The winner will also get to choose a few of their stories that they want me to read and I will review every chapter and recommend the story to others. If the 60th reviewer is anonymous or chooses not to accept the prize, I'll give it to the next reviewer. I don't care how many times each person reviews, either. Sounds like a good deal? I sure hope so! Let me know if you guys have any suggestions and whether or not you like this idea. If y'all like it, I'll continue it as we go for the 75th, 100th, etc. Thanks! You guys rock! :D


	3. Chapter 2

Here's chapter 3! Read the bottom of the page for contest info!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

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Bella's POV

The rest of the day went by pretty slowly. Edward and I didn't talk much, which was easy up until lunch, when everyone else seemed to notice that we weren't participating in the conversation.

"Okay, what happened?" Alice asked when she couldn't take it anymore. "Neither of you guys are talking and you don't look like you had a fight."

"Nothing happened," Edward answered as he took a bite of his pizza. "I was just listening to what you guys were saying."

"Liar," Emmett accused. Edward and I both glared at him, which only made a huge grin spread on his face.

"Is this, like, some kind of 'best friend' secret?" Alice continued. "Ooh! Is it about James?"

I didn't have to look to know that Edward was scowling at the name.

"No, it's nothing about James," I told her. I tried to think of something believable that would make her stop asking questions, but this was Alice we were talking about. I reached for a napkin just as Edward did and my hand brushed against his. I pulled back quickly and felt the blood rushing to my cheeks.

"Oh, so _that's _it," Alice said knowingly as she winked at me. I blushed furiously and looked down at my food. Luckily, Jasper seemed to notice mine and Edward's discomfort and he changed the subject before Emmett and Rosalie had a chance to say anything.

Of course, I couldn't stop Alice that easily. After lunch, she followed me to class. Edward usually walked with me since we had the same fourth period, but he said something about having to talk to his spanish teacher before heading in the opposite direction. Alice took the opportunity to bombard me with questions.

"So, what happened? Did you admit your feelings for each other? Did you break up with James so you could be with him? Did you kiss?" she asked at one hundred words per minute.

I rolled my eyes. "Alice, isn't your class in the other direction?

"Answer the question."

"Almost," I said in answer to her last question.

"Almost what?" I knew she wouldn't stop bugging me until I told her, so what the heck? She'd figure it out eventually anyway.

"We almost kissed," I smiled as I said that. Alice nearly squealed in excitement.

"Yes! I knew it! What stopped you from doing it?"

"The bell. And the fact that I'm not sure if he sees me as more than a friend. I don't want to make things awkward between us."

"Oh, shut up, Bella. He's totally head over heels for you. Why do you think he doesn't have a girlfriend? And he doesn't like James."

"Neither do you," I pointed out. _And neither do I, _I thought bitterly. "Anyways, you need to get to class before we're both late."

She sighed. "This isn't over, Bella Swan."

"Of course it isn't," I mumbled as she hurried away. Who knows? Maybe Alice was right. At the moment, I had to figure out what to do about James. Nothing was ever going to happen between Edward and I if I didn't work things out with him first.

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"Hey, babe," I heard as an arm went across my shoulders. James. He was the only one who called me that. It was the end of the day and I had been on my way to Edward's volvo when he seemed to come out of nowhere. Before I had a chance to say anything, he pushed me against the nearest lockers and pressed his lips to mine. I just stood there, not kissing him back but not pushing away either. With James, it was always best to just cooperate and not fight back. He pulled back when, thankfully, someone cleared their throat.

"You're blocking my locker." I felt the blood rush to my cheeks when I saw Edward there. Oh, God. This was not going to go well. I stepped away so he could open his locker, but he avoided looking at me. James always took every opportunity he could to annoy Edward and the fact that we were in front of his locker wasn't a coincidence.

"Hey, Cullen," James said as he slid his arm around my waist. I tried to slip out of it, but he only tightened his grip on me. "I was just telling Bella here how I'm coming over tonight so we can have a little fun." He wagged his eyebrows suggestively and I saw Edward stiffen as he glared at James. Of course, he thought James was referring to...you know, but I knew that his words meant something else. He was going to beat me tonight. I wasn't sure why, but he was mad- either at me or whatever else gets him upset.

"You'd better watch yourself," Edward warned.

"And why's that?" James asked.

"She's not a piece of meat, you know. Stop treating her like one."

James shrugged. "I don't see her complaining." I glared at him, wishing he wouldn't push it.

"Oh, I'm sure she is; you're just not listening."

"Whatever, Cullen. I gotta go." He leaned down and kissed me again a little longer than necessary. "See you tonight, babe."

I watched as he walked away, getting chills as I thought about what could be in store for me tonight. The sound of Edward slamming his locker interrupted my thoughts and I hurried to catch up as he walked quickly towards the door. He ignored me until we were in his car. I really wished that my truck wasn't messed up so I could have driven myself to school and wouldn't have to sit there and be criticized about my choice of boyfriend.

"I'm sorry about that," I mumbled after a few minutes to break the awkward silence.

"Why do you put up with that guy?" He was fuming and I sighed. Great. I should have just kept my mouth shut.

"Edward, you don't understand. I-"

"You're right, I don't understand, Bella. He treats you like a freakin' piece of meat and you just let him! You deserve better. Why don't you dump him?"

"I can't!" I yelled. The fact that I couldn't just end it drove me nuts everyday. Edward was always asking that question and I was tired of trying to explain it to him without telling him the truth.

"Why not?" he shouted as we pulled up at my house. "You have the right to be with whoever you want. No one is forcing you to stay with him!"

"You don't know the half of it."

"Then inform me! You know you can talk to me about anything." I stared at a bruise I had on my arm from a few days ago and felt tears coming to my eyes as I was reminded of how it got there.

"Bella?" Edward suddenly softened as he looked at my face. "Are you okay?" I grabbed my backpack and opened the door.

"I have to go," I muttered as I hurried towards my house. I heard him calling my name behind me, but I igrnored it as I went inside. I had to put away anything that could be used as a weapon before James showed up.

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_I'm not sure if I can keep this up any longer. Edward is driving me nuts. He keeps asking why I'm dating James and why I won't break up with him. I wish he would just leave me alone and-_

"Bella!" Charlie called from downstairs. "James is here!" I sighed and closed my diary before sliding it into my pillowcase. I know what you're thinking. A diary? Well, every since this whole ordeal with James began, I've been going crazy from having to lie to everyone. Writing everything down made me feel like I was telling someone the truth and not living a lie. It helped me a lot, but I was always afraid someone would find it. Hardly anyone ever comes in my room, but I was still worried my dad or one of my friends would snoop around and find it. I was definitely going to burn it at some point, just not yet.

"Coming!" I called as I made sure I wasn't wearing any jewelry. I know, it seems stupid to think that he would use a ring or necklace to hurt me, but I was paranoid. I hurried down the stairs, hoping Charlie would be staying home that night. James smiled as I came into the living room, looking innocent and sweet. Charlie was sitting down on the couch watching baseball on TV.

"Are you two going out?" he asked without looking up.

"Actually, I was just planning on hanging out over here," James said. "Aren't you going to work?"

"I'm not sure. Edward called about an hour ago and said I should take the night off. He said I work too much and I couldn't agree with him more." James glared like it was my fault that Charlie was taking the night off. I couldn't believe Edward would do that. I guess he was trying to protect me after what James had said earlier, but he was making things worse. I would have to talk to him about that later.

"Why do you ask?" Charlie continued. "Are you kids trying to get rid of me?" He finally looked up from the television to see if we were hiding something.

"No," James said. "It's perfectly fine. We'll just be upstairs."

"All right. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Remember, I'm still here."

"Of course not, Mr. Swan," James put on his best smile before we headed up to my room. I knew this didn't get me off the hook, but at least he couldn't do anything that would make a lot of noise.

"What have you been telling Cullen?" he whisper-yelled once he closed my door.

"I haven't told him anything," I said in a normal voice. I was hoping to make him mad so he would start yelling and Charlie would come up. He was a cop, after all, and if he found out on his own, James wouldn't be able to blame me.

"Then why does he keep sticking his nose in our business?"

"Maybe he wouldn't _stick his nose in our business _if you didn't try to make him so angry all the time!" He raised his eyebrows at me. I hardly ever argued back with him because it only made him angrier.

"Oh, I see what you're doing here. You think that I won't do anything because your daddy is downstairs. He's not stopping me from anything, babe, just as long as we're quiet." He was pushing me up against the wall now, his face only inches from mine. His eyes lit up and I realized he must have had an idea. Great.

"Come here," he said as he opened the door and started pulling me to the bathroom. He closed the door and I watched as he went to the bath tub and looked around for something. He came back to me with my razor in his hand. My eyes widened. Razor cuts hurt. I wasn't looking forward to this. He took the cap off and then handed me the razor. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. Wasn't he going to cut me with it?

"Go on," he urged, moving my hand until the razor rested over to the underside of my left forearm. "Cut your arm." This was new. He always hurt me for his enjoyment. Why did he suddenly want me to hurt myself? Didn't that defeat the whole purpose?

"Just do it," he commanded. I closed my eyes and dragged the razor across my arm as quickly as I could to get it over with. I opened my eyes to see three shallow scratches about three inches long from each of the blades. I was relieved that I could hardly feel it.

"No," James sounded irritated. "Make them deeper." I was still confused, but I decided to follow his directions before he got angry. I closed my eyes and dragged the razor over my arm once more, this time feeling the sting as it cut deeper into my skin. When I opened my eyes, I could see the blood already coming out and I had to look away. I hated blood.

"Perfect," James smiled. "I've got to go now. I'll see you later." He started to open the door, but I stopped him before he could leave.

"Wait! What do I tell my friends if they ask?"

He shrugged. "Tell them the truth." The confusion must have been obvious on my face because he went on. "You cut yourself."

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Dun dun DUN! He he :) Okay, so this is going to cause a bit of drama in the next chapter, which is already written and I'll put it up when I get a chance.

***CONTEST!* **Remember, whoever leaves the 60th review (That's **only 10 reviews away**) will get their choice of having me write a oneshot for them of something that I have to approve of (I can't write about something I haven't read :P) or they will choose one of my stories that they really want me to update and I will post another chapter or two ASAP. The winner will also get to choose a few of their stories that they want me to read and I will review and recommend the story to others. If the 60th reviewer is anonymous or chooses not to accept the prize, I'll give it to the next reviewer. I don't care how many times each person reviews, either.

Thanks guys! I love you all! :D


	4. Chapter 3

Hey, thanks for the reviews! :D You guys rock, so I decided to post this chapter early. Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

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Bella's POV

"So," Edward said as I followed him to his car. "Did you and James have a good time last night?" I glared at him as he opened my door for me and he chuckled in response.

"I can't believe you called my dad," I said when he was behind the wheel.

"Well, what was I supposed to do? Just stand by and let some jerk get you into bed?" I was quiet. I couldn't believe he would even think that I'd want to sleep with James. The thought sent chills down my spine.

"Wait," Edward went on. "You haven't- I mean, you're still a...you know, right?"

"Oh my God, Edward! What kind of a question is that?" I couldn't believe he would actually bring this up. I mean, sure, he was my best friend, but he was still a guy.

"I mean, you guys have been together for a while now and, you know, I don't know if I'm protecting you or just stopping you from doing something you do all the time. I just don't-"

"Edward!" I interrupted his ranting. "We haven't done anything and I don't plan to, okay? So, just drop it."

"That's a relief. I'd hate for you to get pregnant with that guy's baby and-"

"Please stop talking before I puke." He laughed and I studied his face. He really did look relieved and a lot happier than he had a few minutes before. Was it because he had feelings for me or was he just being the overprotective best friend? I wasn't sure, but I couldn't help but wonder about that for the rest of the morning.

Of course, lunch time always ruined everything. After I went through the lunch line and set my food down on the table, Emmett thought it would be funny to take the chocolate chip cookie right off of my tray. He laughed as he took a bite and then lifted it over his head, out of my reach.

"This isn't funny, Emmett!" I reached for it, but refused to give Emmett the satisfaction of seeing me jump for the cookie like a little kid. He continued to laugh and I turned to Edward.

"Emmett, give Bella her cookie back," he said as he started eating his lunch.

"Nah, I don't feel like it," Emmett answered. Edward tried to hide his grin and shrugged. I sighed and turned back to Emmett, reaching for my cookie once more.

"Please, Emmett," I begged as I put on my best puppy dog face.

"Fine," he gave in. I smiled as he lowered it slightly and reached up to grab it, only to be stopped by Emmett's sudden outburst.

"Dang, Bella, what happened to your arm?" I pulled back and covered my left forearm with my hand.

"Oh, it's nothing," I said nervously. "Hey, did you guys study for the Pre-Cal test today? I completely forgot about it." I was about to sit down in my chair when Edward stood and tried to grab my arm.

"Stop it," I protested as I tried to pull away, but he was too strong and it didn't take long for him to move my hand out of the way. His jaw dropped as he examined the cuts on my arm. He had positioned my arm at an angle so that the rest of my friends could see it, as well. All of them, even Rosalie, looked horrified.

"Oh, that," I said, trying to sound casual. "There was this cat-"

"You don't have a cat," Edward said.

"I know. I went outside yesterday and-"

"It was raining yesterday."

I bit my lip, knowing this wasn't going to end well, but I had to try. "So what? It rains all the time. I'm used to it. Anyways, I tried to pick it up and it scratched me. No big deal." I tried to shrug it off.

"Cats don't have six claws," Emmett stated as he stared at me. All five of them had their eyes glued on me and I wanted to just turn invisible. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Did you do this?" Edward sounded pained as he asked this and I felt tears coming to my eyes.

"What? Why would you even ask that?"

"Did you cut yourself, Bella?" he asked again, a little louder this time.

"No! Of course not!" My voice cracked and I looked around at my friends to see if they believed my lie. Technically, I did do it to myself, but not because I wanted to. Alice had watery eyes and was definitely on the verge of breaking down. Rosalie had her hand over her mouth like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Emmett and Jasper both looked really sad and Edward... I didn't even want to look at him, but I had to. He looked really hurt and worried. I could feel his eyes searching my face for any sign as to what I was hiding.

"Why did you do this?" he asked. "Are you depressed? Is something bothering you? You know you can talk to me, or any of us."

"I didn't..." I started, but I couldn't lie to them. They all had already drawn their own conclusions and I wasn't going to change their eyes. "I didn't want..." I suddenly felt so exposed. I noticed Edward studying my arm, which was still on display, and pulled away. Edward looked at me with tears in his eyes and I couldn't take it anymore. Edward never cried.

"I have to go." I grabbed my backpack and ran out of the cafeteria. Once I was outside of the doors and next to the gym, I broke down. All of my friends thought I was depressed and cut myself. How could they even think that? Didn't they know me at all? I absolutely hated blood. And Edward thought I was sleeping with the guy who made me do this and constantly beat me. I felt angry at the thought and I wanted to scream, but all that came out were sobs.

A few kids who were hanging out around the restrooms were staring at me, but I ignored them. I had to get out of there. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and started to call Charlie when I changed my mind. He was at work and would be really worried if he saw me like this.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked back to see Emmett. He had always been like a big brother to me and I wondered what he would do if he knew about James. I wanted to yell at him to go away, but he put his arms around me and just held me as I sobbed.

"Come on," he said after a minute. "I'll take you home."

"Emmett," I croaked as I pulled away, trying to protest. I sounded horrible and I knew I must look even worse.

"Shh, it's all right. We don't have to talk." I looked at him and he smiled sadly when I nodded.

"Come on," he continued. "Let's go the back way so we don't have to draw anymore attention." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and led me to his car. Sure enough, he was true to his word and didn't say anything the whole ride to my house.

"Don't worry about your attendance," he said when he pulled into my driveway. "Alice is going to take care of it.."

"Thanks, Emmett," I told him as I wiped my face clear of any tears that were still there.

"Don't mention it." He patted my back encouragingly. "I'm here for you if you need anything. So are the others. Particularly Edward."

I sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just...can't talk about it. I'm sorry." I shrugged, not sure what else I could say.

"It's all right, Bells. I just want to make sure you know. If you ever want to talk, you know where to go." He hugged me one last time before I went inside. After setting my backpack down, I took a shower and got dressed in my pajamas. I spent the rest of the day watching movies and pigging out on popcorn and icecream. When Charlie got home and asked why I was there so early, I told him I wasn't feeling well and Emmett took me home. He didn't mind and left me alone for the rest of the night.

My phone kept ringing with calls from Edward and Alice, but I ignored them until they stopped. I guess they finally realized I didn't want to talk.

"Hey, Bells," Charlie said at one point when he came into the living room. I turned the TV down and waited for him to continue. "The tow truck is coming to get your truck in a few minutes. Do you need to get anything out of it?" Darn it! I completely forgot that the motor was still messed up. I had hoped I could drive myself to school tomorrow so I could avoid Edward, but I didn't have a choice now.

"I don't think so," I told him when I got back to my movie. I went to bed early that night, though it took a while for me to fall asleep. Once I did, nightmares about James kept me from sleeping for very long. Around four in the morning, I gave up and just stared at the wall for a while. I considered skipping school the next day, but that would only make the situation worse. Everyone would be even more worried and bug me non-stop. I guess I would just have to be a big girl and deal with it.

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So, what do you guys think? I think I'll have a chapter from Edward's POV a little later...

**Only 5 reviews left until we have our contest winner! **

Details are at the end of chapter 2 if you haven't read them yet.

Thanks guys! :D


	5. Chapter 4

Okay, so I have a bit of a problem. **BritPit **won the contest by being the 60th reviewer, but I can't contact him/her because they chose to disable the PM feature. BritPit, if you're reading this, please contact me by private message or let me know if you aren't interested in getting a one-shot. If you don't contact me, I'll give the one-shot to the next reviewer. Thanks!

Heads up: EdwardxBella in this chapter! ;)

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Bella's POV

I woke up to the sound of Charlie calling my name the next morning. I looked at the clock and saw that I had slept in about half an hour later than normal. I groaned and wiped my mouth of any drool before rushing through my morning routine. By the time I was making my way downstairs, I realized Edward would be arriving any minute and I probably wouldn't have time for breakfast. I guess Charlie would have to pick up something on the way to work. And that's when I heard the laughing.

"That's a good one!" Charlie laughed. I walked into the dining room to see Edward and Charlie laughing at the table. Charlie was eating a burrito and had a Styrofoam cup filled with what I assumed was coffee. They both looked up when I walked in.

"Morning, Bells," Charlie said. "Look, Edward brought us breakfast!" He lifted his burrito and I smiled.

"That's good. I wasn't going to have time to make anything since I overslept." Charlie took another bite of his burrito and I started to feel awkward just standing there.

"Well, we should go before we're late," I announced. Edward got up from his chair and picked up a paper bag, which I assumed had our breakfast in it.

"It's nice to see you, Charlie," Edward said as we started towards the door.

"You're welcome here anytime, Edward. Particularly if you have food." We laughed and I picked up my backpack from beside the door, only to have it lifted from my grasp by Edward. I gave him a questioning look and he smiled.

"What? I wouldn't be a gentleman if I let a pretty girl like yourself carry her own backpack." He winked and I rolled my eyes. We headed out to his car and I waited for all of the questions to start. _Why did you cut yourself? How long has this been going on? Why haven't you told me? _I was sure Edward would ask those and plenty more, only he didn't. We ate our breakfast burritos on the way to school while he told me a bunch of cheesy jokes he found in a book that he and Emmett made in elementary school.

"Okay, so a dachshund, a bull dog, and a hound dog were in a dog bar."

"Oh, God," I muttered.

He smiled. "Let me finish. A good looking Collie walked in and said she'd go out with whoever could put liver and cheese into a sentence. The dachshund said 'I love liver and cheese', but the collie said it wasn't good enough. The hound dog said 'I hate liver and cheese' and she said it wasn't creative enough. The bulldog jumped in and said 'Liver alone! Cheese mine!'"

I couldn't help but laugh at how cheesy the joke was and Edward laughed as well. He told me jokes for the whole car ride to school and I wasn't sure why, but they definitely cheered me up.

By lunch time, I was feeling nervous again. My friends were sure to have questions and even if Edward didn't ask, Alice would definitely say something.

"Hey, Bella," she smiled as I sat down at the table. "So, Jasper and I have been talking and we thought it would be fun for all of us to go out to a movie or something tomorrow. You know, it's been a while since the six of us have gone somewhere besides school together. It will be fun."

"Sounds good to me," Emmett said. "Rose?" The blonde girl shrugged and nodded.

"I don't see why not."

"Great!" Alice beamed. "Edward-"

"Do I have a choice?" he asked and I hid my smile.

"No, not really. Bella? Are you in?"

"Yeah, sure." Alice smiled and started talking about what movies were out now. Everyone was listening and nodding their heads or giving input occasionally.

Overall, it was a normal lunch day, which was driving me nuts. Sure, that's what I thought I wanted, but I didn't like how everyone seemed to avoid the subject completely like the incident with the cuts on my arm never happened. What did they think? Did they even care? I mentally slapped myself for asking the last question. After the way they had looked at me when they saw my arm, I had no doubt they cared about me. But why weren't they saying anything?

"Okay," I said finally when I couldn't take it anymore. Alice stopped talking and everyone looked at me expectantly. "What's going on? Why are we all acting like yesterday didn't happen?" I could tell I had ruined the mood when everyone got quiet, but I was frustrated.

"I thought we weren't supposed to ask," Rosalie broke the silence.

"Well, no, but don't you guys want to know?"

"Bella," Jasper answered for everyone else. "Of course we want to know. We all love you and care about you, so we don't want to push you. You can talk to us when you're ready."

Wow. I wasn't expecting that. "Okay," I mumbled, unsure of what else to say. I didn't really want to thank them because I was still kind of mad about the conclusions they had drawn, but I guess it was nice of them to give me a break. Everyone looked uncomfortable and I noticed Edward staring at my arm. I turned it over uncomfortably and he looked away.

"So," I said awkwardly. "Did you guys decide on a movie?" The conversation started up again, but I didn't pay attention. Sure, my friends weren't forcing me to say anything now, but what about next week? Or a month from now? Surely they'll be more attentive to my cuts and bruises and get worried. Would I have to tell them? What if they told my dad that I was depressed and cut myself? What would they do if they found out the truth? More importantly, what would James do to me if they knew? The questions were driving me nuts, but I did my best to push them to the back of my mind and didn't bring it up again.

Friday came around quickly and James didn't bother me at all on Thursday, which I was grateful for. I wanted to enjoy my time with my friends without having to worry about them noticing any more cuts. Alice had talked to Charlie (without my knowledge) and decided she was going to spend the night at my house after the movie. I was a bit irritated that she didn't ask me first, but I was glad for the company. It had been too long since I've had a good old fashioned sleepover. Alice picked me up around six and we met everyone else up at the movie theater. We were the first two there and hung out by the games, but it didn't take long for everyone else to show up.

"Hey," Edward smiled at me when he got there. "So, what are we watching?"

"I have no idea," I shrugged. "Something about zombies, I think. Emmett refused to watch any romantic movies and Rose didn't want to watch any kid movies, so that's what they agreed on."

He smiled. "I guess that's a compromise. Hey, do you want to go get some popcorn and snacks?"

"Of course," I told him. I looked at the rest of the group, but everyone was already preoccupied. Emmett and Rosalie were racing each other at a car game and Jasper was working on winning a teddy bear for Alice. I shrugged and followed Edward to the concession stands. They could get their own snacks when they were ready.

"So, how have you been?" he asked casually when we were in line. It sounded like small talk, but I knew he was still waiting for me to open up to him about my arm. _Too bad, _I thought.

"I'm all right. I have an overload on homework, though." I rolled my eyes and he smiled slightly. It definitely wasn't the answer he was looking for, but I decided to play dumb. Of course, he wasn't going to let me get away with that. He started stroking my forearm gently and studied the cuts.

"Bella," he started in a serious voice. Oh, great, here it comes.

"There you are!" Alice interrupted. "I've been looking everywhere for you two. I have a list of everything we want." She pulled out a notepad with a list of candies and drinks and kept talking. I slipped my arm out of Edward's grasp and went to join Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie where they were playing games. Edward looked irritated, but he didn't protest. I'd have to thank Alice later. Edward and Alice returned a few minutes later with their hands full of snacks and I finished up my game of air hockey with Emmett before we headed to the theater. I walked next to Edward, who luckily decided to keep his mouth shut. I unconsciously sat in between him and Alice in the theater, which was pretty awkward. I tried to avoid him by watching the previews, but I was still aware of his occasional glance in my direction.

Then the movie started and I was left feeling even worse than I had a few minutes before. The scene opened with a woman unlocking the door of her apartment and carrying a few bags of groceries. She turned on the light and jumped when she saw a man sitting on her couch.

"What do you want, Jason?" she asked as she set her stuff down on the counter. He got up and walked up next to her.

"Come on, baby, I just want you back." He stroked her cheek and she slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me! I told you, we're over!"

"We're not over until I say we're over!" He started yelling profanities at her and it was obvious he was drunk. I flinched when he threw a glass plate across the room. And then he started beating her. I bit my lip and tried to hold it together. _It's just a movie, _I told myself, but the sounds of her screaming seemed too real.

"I thought this was a zombie movie," I whispered to Alice, whose eyes were glued to the screen.

She nodded. "Just wait. He's going to kill her and later she comes back as a zombie to get revenge." I looked around to see everyone around me watching the movie casually. To them, it was just a movie. They didn't know what it was like to get beaten like that. _He's going to kill her, _Alice's words repeated themselves in my mind. James was strong and was always able to get away with what he did. The only reason he hasn't killed me is because he doesn't want to. But what if he changes his mind? I felt like I was going to throw up.

"Hey," I flinched when Edward whispered in my ear. "Are you all right?"

I shook my head violently. "I can't watch this." I handed him the container of popcorn on my lap and stood up. I stumbled over people's legs and rushed towards the door when I heard the woman's body thud as she hit the floor. I had to get out of there. Once I was outside of the theater, I took a few deep breaths to pull myself together. _It's just a movie, _I told myself. I felt a hand on my arm and turned around, ready to defend myself. _Please don't be James. _I let out a sigh of relief when it was just Edward.

"You scared me," I told him. He saw the look on my face and wrapped his arms around me. I felt like crying, but I didn't want to. Edward would only ask more questions and to be honest, I was tired of crying all the time. I pulled away.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"They stayed. I told them it would be best if they didn't come and make it awkward for you."

"Thanks," I sniffled and wiped the few tears that had escaped.

"Do you want me to take you home?"

I shook my head.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I'm all right. You can go watch the movie."

"Not a chance." He wrapped his arm around me and headed for the concession stand. "How would you like a strawberry milkshake?" He knew that was my favorite. I smiled and nodded. We spent the next two hours eating and playing games while we waited for everyone else to finish their movie. I found a machine with fake mustaches and Edward and I both got one. I had a bushy brown handlebar mustache and he had a black curly one. I laughed when he put it on and a few kids stared at us like we were nuts. After we played a few more games, Edward said we should go to the photo booth. I didn't want to, of course; I hate taking pictures of myself, but Edward insisted and I didn't really mind getting a few pictures of us together with our ridiculous mustaches.

We took five pictures together, the first three just of us smiling and putting bunny ears on each other and whatnot. The fourth one took me completely by surprise when he kissed my cheek and before I knew it, I was leaning in towards his lips.

"Edward? Bella?" a knock interrupted us and I sighed in frustration.

"Just a second, Alice," Edward said in an annoyed voice before closing the distance. I couldn't believe we were actually kissing. His lips were a little bit chapped, but I hardly even noticed. All I could think about was the fact that I was kissing my best friend. And that we both had bushy caterpillars above our lips. It was definitely a strange feeling.

We couldn't have been kissing more than two seconds when another knock on the booth made us both jump. Edward smiled sheepishly and I bit my lip to keep from laughing at how ridiculous we must look right now when we opened it to see Alice.

"Finally! You guys took forever in there!" she exclaimed as we made our way out of the booth. She scrunched her eyebrows together. "What's with the mustaches? And why are you blushing?" She looked at me suspiciously and tried to snatch the photos from the tray, but I grabbed them before she could. She could obviously tell something was up, but I ignored her and turned to the rest of the group, who had just walked up.

"Oh, man, that part was so awesome!" Emmett exclaimed as he and Jasper talked about the movie and acted out some of the scenes.

"You guys should have seen it," Rosalie said as she came over.

"Did you two have fun?" Emmett asked when he brought his attention to us. "Nice mustaches, by the way." I took mine off and avoided looking into Edward's eyes as he did the same. The wrapper was still in my pocket, so I just put the mustache back in it so I could save it. I know, it's stupid, but it's a memory of the first, and hopefully not last, kiss Edward and I share together.

"Is he blushing?" Rosalie asked in disbelief. "And Bella is too…Okay, what did we miss?"

"Nothing," Edward shrugged. No one seemed to believe him, though, and Emmett nudged him as he wiggled his eyebrows teasingly.

"Well, we should probably get going," Edward said as he made his way for the door. He grabbed my hand and we started running and laughing as we tried to ditch our friends.

"Seriously?" Alice called after us as she followed. We made it out to his car and I broke into a fit of laughter.

"This has been pretty fun," I told him.

"It sure has." He smiled and brought his hand up to my cheek. "So does this mean…?"

I bit my lip and looked down at the ground. "I'm not sure. I need to do something about James."

"Why don't you just break up with him?"

"I wish it was that easy," I sighed. He looked really frustrated and I actually had the urge to tell him the truth, but I couldn't. Not with all of our friends nearby and most likely spying on us. I decided I definitely would tell him, just not yet. "I'll talk to him tomorrow." It wasn't necessarily the truth, but I felt bad and knew that he would take it the wrong way if I said I couldn't break up with James.

"Okay," he faked a smile. I really wanted to kiss him, but I knew all of our friends were watching and they would only ask questions if I did. Instead, I pecked him on the cheek and gave him a reassuring smile before walking off to find Alice.

"Hey," Edward stopped me. I turned back around and waited for him to say something. "Can I have my picture?"

"Oh, yeah," I said sheepishly before handing him his half of the photo strip.

"Goodnight, Bella."

I blushed and smiled back at him. "Night." I hurried off to find Alice, who had been spying with the other three, as I had guessed. She bombarded me with questions as we got in her car, but I ignored most of them. I looked down at the pictures in my hand and smiled to myself. Just as I had hoped, the last picture was of us kissing. Alice made a big deal when she saw it. I brushed it off as nothing, but inside, I felt more hopeful than I had in a long time.

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Omg they kissed! :D Let me know what you guys think! The next winner of the contest will be the 75th reviewer.

**BritPit: **If you're reading this, don't forget to contact me somehow if you want your one-shot!


	6. Chapter 5

Hey guys :) this update is a little sooner than expected, but it's also a bit short. Heads up- there's going to be some of another character's POV in this chapter, so it's a bit different than previous chapters.

Disclaimer: My name may be Stephanie, but my last name is definitely not Meyer :P

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Bella's POV

"So, you and Edward really hit it off tonight, huh?" Alice asked as I unlocked the front door of my house. I sighed in frustration. She had been pestering me with questions the whole ride home and it was driving me nuts.

"You aren't going to let this go anytime soon, are you?"

"Nope. Come on, Bella, I know you two kissed; I saw the picture. All I'm asking for is the details. How did it happen? How long was it? Were you wearing that ridiculous mustache when it happened?"

"I don't know," I said as we walked in. Luckily, Charlie was hanging out with some friends, so he wouldn't be home for a few hours and didn't have to listen to Alice's ranting. "It just sort of happened. Yeah, we were wearing the mustaches and it could have been longer if someone hadn't rushed us."

She put her hands up in surrender after setting down her bag. "Hey, don't get mad at me. You could have just told me you guys wanted to make out and I would have been happy to give you some time."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Come on, let's go upstairs." We headed up to my room and Alice went to take a shower. I cleaned up my room a bit, but I couldn't get my mind off of Edward. I wondered what he was doing at the moment. Was he thinking about me, too? I set the picture and mustache out on my nightstand and smiled.

Unable to resist the urge, I pulled out my cell phone and decided to send him a text. _Thinking about you. Hope to feel your mustache again sometime soon. ;)_ I got a reply less than a minute later.

_Aw that's so sweet Bells :) sorry to break it to you but I think you should know that I shaved this morning. Maybe you should try Edward instead. ;) -Emmett_

I laughed out loud when I realized I had sent the text to Emmett instead of Edward. How had I managed to do that?

_Sorry, Emmett, too many E names in my phone. :P And that's too bad that you shaved; a mustache would suit you quite nicely. :{)_

I smiled and sent the text. Should I just forward it to Edward? He would probably talk to Emmett later, so I decided against it and typed up a new message.

_Just texted your cousin by accident :P turns out he shaved this morning. Such a disappointment :/ _

I got a reply almost immediately. _That's too bad :( but if you like guys with facial hair, I think I can hook you up with someone. ;)_

I was about to reply when Alice walked in wearing her pajamas.

"Well, that was fast," I told her as I set my phone down.

She shrugged. "I didn't feel like taking a long time tonight. I kind of wanted to call Jasper, so if you don't mind..." She gestured towards the door.

"Okay, I get it," I said as I grabbed my pajamas and headed for the bathroom.

"Take your time!" she called behind me. I rolled my eyes and smiled to myself before getting ready for my shower. Alice could talk to Jasper for hours and still not get bored or tired of talking. I guess it was just a couples thing.

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Alice's POV

"Is she gone?" I set my cell phone down and tiptoed over to the outside of Bella's bathroom. Once I heard the water running, I went back to her room and picked my phone back up.

"She's in the shower," I said as I closed the door. "I don't feel right about this, Edward."

"Come on, Alice. You promised."

I sighed as I picked through the drawers in her desk. "Yeah, but that's only because you wouldn't leave me alone until I agreed and it was also before I was actually rummaging through her personal belongings. It just feels so wrong."

I could almost see him pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Look, Alice, she's been hurting herself for whatever reason and I'm not going to just stand by and let it happen. We're her friends and it's our job to help her."

"I know, it's just that she really doesn't want us to know right now and I think we should wait until she's ready."

"And when will that be? Before or after she's jumped out of a building?"

I sighed and moved to some boxes in her closet. "Okay, point taken. But what if she finds out? She's going to hate both of us for invading her privacy."

"If that's what it takes to help her, it's a risk we'll have to take." I closed the last box and sat down on her bed.

"Well, there's nothing here. I can't find any clues about what's going on in her life right now and I doubt there will be any. Depressed people don't usually write their life story in a book or something."

"That's it! You need to find her diary."

"Um, Edward, Bella doesn't exactly strike me as the kind of person to write down all of her deepest secrets that she won't even tell her best friends."

"I know she has one, Alice. It's blue with polka dots or something like that. Check in her pillowcase or something." I slid my hand in her pillowcase and was surprised when I found a journal with the same description inside.

"Okay, that's creepy," I told Edward as I studied the cover. "How did you know she had a diary? Have you been snooping around in here already?"

"Of course not. You're making me sound like some creepy stalker."

"Yeah and making your sister do it for you isn't exactly any less creepy."

"Whatever."

"Seriously. though, how did you know?"

"We were out shopping a few weeks ago and I saw her looking at one. She said she wasn't interested, but I saw her grab it when she thought I wasn't looking. Anyways, that's not important. Tell me what it says."

"You do realize that you're asking me to read your best friend and potential girlfriend's diary, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"_So?_ This is a complete invasion of privacy and I won't do it!"

"Come on, Alice. If you don't do it, I'll come over and look for myself. I know where it is now."

"Edward-"

"At least open it up and tell me what day it started on. Maybe I can look back and see if anything significant happened around that time." Well, I guess it can't hurt to just look at the date. I slowly opened up to the first page.

"It says February eleventh. That was about a month ago." Edward started talking again but I stopped listening when a word on the page caught my eye. _Punched. _What the...? I couldn't help but read on when horrible words and sentences started jumping out at me. _He threw the vase at me...pushed me up against the wall...the blow knocked me unconscious._

"Oh my God," I said out loud as tears came to my eyes. _James._

"What? What is it, Alice?" Sure, I had never liked the guy, but I never thought... Oh, poor Bella! How could I have not seen this? I was so wrapped up in playing matchmaker that I never even noticed. And her arm... Oh, God, I wanted to throw up.

"Alice?" Edward was still trying to get my attention, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him.

"I have to go, Edward."

"Wait, Alice don't-" I hung up before he could finish. I put my head in my hands and felt tears coming to my eyes. Oh, God.

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Omg! So now Alice knows :O what's going to happen next? Is she going to tell anyone? What will she say to Bella? Most importantly: what will James do about it?

Review! Please and thanks! Next contest winner will be the 75th reviewer!


	7. Chapter 6

Okay, so I apologize for leaving a cliff hanger for so long! If it helps at all, something very big that everyone has been waiting for will happen in this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!

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Bella's POV

For once, I didn't take a very long shower. I was out and dressed in my pajamas about twenty minutes after I got in. I dried my hair a bit with my towel before heading back to my room. I wonder if Alice was still talking to Jasper.

"Hey, Alice," I said as I picked up my cell phone to check for any new texts. "How's Jasper?" Unfortunately, Edward hadn't texted me back, and since Alice was sleeping over at my house, there weren't many other people who I could text, anyway. It took me a second to realize Alice didn't answer.

"Alice?" I asked when I looked up at her. She was sitting on my bed with tears in her eyes and looked like she'd just seen a ghost. "Are you all right?" She moved her hand slightly and I realized she was holding something in her lap. My diary.

"Why didn't you tell us?" she asked. I was so shocked by the whole situation that it took me a minute to form an answer. How could she do this to me?

"You read my diary?" I asked when I could finally say something.

She bit her lip as more tears came to her eyes. "Bella-"

"Oh my God, I can't believe you!" I yelled as I snatched the journal from her lap. "You actually thought it was okay to go snooping through my stuff while I was in the shower? What the heck is wrong with you?"

"I can explain."

"Explain what? How you could betray one of your best friends and go snooping through her stuff because you got curious about a few cuts?"

"We've all been so worried about you, Bella. Edward wanted-"

"Oh, so Edward put you up to this? I shouldn't even be surprised. You two just don't know how to leave me alone! Oh my God, I'm such an idiot! I can't believe I actually thought he liked me. I guess that kiss was supposed to keep me distracted, huh? Just another part of the plan!"

"No, Bella it isn't like that at all! He really cares about you and wants you to be safe."

"Yeah, right. All you guys care about is satisfying your own curiosity! If you really cared about me, you would have figured it out on your own! I thought I made it fairly clear that I wasn't happy with James and none of you ever thought to question it!" Tears were streaming down my face now and I couldn't stop them.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed as she got up and started to put her arms around me, but I pushed her away.

"Don't touch me! I thought you were my friend."

"I am, Bella! I didn't want to do this, but I thought it was the only way. I was afraid you would do something terrible to yourself and I didn't want to just let it happen. You're like a sister to me and I would never be able to live with myself if something happened to you when I could have done something to stop it.

"And now that I know the truth, we need to tell your dad. James could be arrested and he won't ever bother you again! Don't you want that?"

"Of course I do, Alice! You don't know how much I would love to just forget about James and everything he's done to me! But it's never going to happen, all right? Sure, he might get put behind bars for a few years, but what about when he gets out? He's going to want revenge and I have no doubt that he'll find a way to get it. You have to just keep you mouth shut about this, okay?"

She shook her head as more tears ran down her cheeks. "How am I supposed to just stand by and let him beat you up all the time? And what will I do when you come to school with new cuts and bruises? I'm going to be so angry with myself every time it happens and the thought just makes me want to throw up. This is something I just can't keep quiet about."

She had made up her mind and wasn't going to change it just because I asked her to. I guess she was going to tell everyone, but I wasn't ever going to forgive her. "I think you should go now." Without another word, Alice picked up her bag and a few belongings she had already taken out and left.

I felt myself breaking down as I began ripping my diary to shreds. How could Alice read my diary like that? Did she honestly think it was going to help? The part that bothered me the most was the reason she'd said she was snooping around in the first place. She and Edward thought that I was going to kill myself at some point in the near future. It was like they didn't even know me.

I cried myself to sleep that night. Alice knew the truth and there was no stopping the inevitable. At this point, all I could do was wait for her to spread the word.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to the sound of the front door opening and closing. The events of the night before played back in my mind and I sighed as I got out of bed. I guess I'd better get used to people knowing my secret. I checked my phone and saw that it was almost ten. I also had a text from Charlie.

_Bells,_

_Going out to hang with some friends. Be back in time for dinner._

_Dad_

Okay, he must have just left, so I didn't have anything to worry about. Then I realized the text was sent almost two hours earlier. A loud noise downstairs made me jump. If Charlie had been gone for a few hours, who was downstairs?

I looked around for something to use as a weapon and was grateful to see that Alice had left a pair of stilettos. I picked one up and slowly tiptoed down the stairs. My heart was pounding in my chest and I prayed that Charlie had come home to get something he forgot. In my mind, though, I knew it must be James. Surely, he had figured out about last night and was really mad. Maybe he wanted to finally finish me off, but I wasn't going down without a fight.

I snuck past the front door and towards the kitchen. I hid behind one of the counters and saw the fridge open. Someone was ducking down and looking through our food. I stood up and lifted the stiletto, preparing to hit James or whoever it was across the head to knock him out when he stood up. I waited a second and took a step closer, accidentally bumping my hip into the corner of the counter.

"Ouch," I mumbled. The person in our fridge shot up and I was about to hit him when I saw a familiar face. I sighed in relief and lowered my arm. "What are you doing here, Edward?"

He lifted a carton of eggs and a container of bacon bits in the air before setting them on the counter. "I was planning on making you breakfast. Sorry to scare you; I didn't know you were up." He took note of the shoe in my hand and tried to hide his smile. "Were you seriously planning on beating me up with one of Alice's stilettos?"

I dropped the shoe and glared at him. "It was the first dangerous looking thing I saw. How did you get in, anyway?" He dug in his pocket and pulled out a key to my house. I had given it to him a few years ago so he could take care of the goldfish I had when we were on vacation for a few days. He kind of just kept it after that and used it occasionally when he felt like sneaking up on me.

"Right," I said. "Seriously, though, why are you here? I didn't think you'd have the nerve to show your face for a while after what happened last night."

"Look, Bella, I'm really sorry about that. Alice wanted no part in it and I talked her into doing it and that was wrong. I'm sorry."

"I'm confused," I told him. "I mean, I expected the apology, but I didn't think you'd take the news so well."

"What news?" he scrunched his eyebrows together. "Alice hasn't told me anything. She came home last night and said I had to talk to you if I wanted to know."

"So that's what this is about. You didn't come over here to apologize; all you want is a stupid explanation! Can't you just accept that I don't want to talk about it?"

"I can't! I can't just stand back and watch my best friend cut herself! I need to know why you're doing this so I can help."

"You seriously still think I'm doing this to myself? I hate blood! I nearly passed out in Biology when we had to take blood samples! What makes you think I would suddenly want to watch it come out of my arm?"

"I don't know! There's no way all of those cuts and bruises you've had over the past few weeks are from falling down or smacking your head into a locker or whatever other stupid excuses you made up! I'm really worried about you! Please just tell me what's bothering you."

"You want to know what's bothering me? How about the fact that all of my friends think I'm hurting myself? Do you honestly think I did this to myself?" I pulled up the right sleeve of my t-shirt to show him a huge bruise I had from where James had punched me last week. "Or how about these?" I pulled up part of my shirt to show him the bruises I had on my torso. "You think I just punched myself, too?"

He stared at my stomach in shock. "Who did this to you, Bella?"

"Oh, I don't know, I'm assuming it was the same person who hit me across the head with a glass plate a few days ago and made me cut my arm! Who the heck do you think it was, Edward?"

His hands turned into fists as realization came to his eyes. "James. I'm going to kill him!" He punched the wall and I flinched as I watched his fist leave a hole in it. Charlie wouldn't be very happy when he saw that.

I felt tears coming to my eyes as I was reminded of James and headed over to the couch so Edward wouldn't see me cry. He was fuming and I couldn't remember ever seeing him like this.

"I can't believe I didn't notice!" he was yelling. "I've never trusted him. Never. Oh God, Bella! Why didn't you tell me?" He calmed down enough to sit down next to me on the couch. I was shaking my head as tears fell down my cheeks.

"I couldn't. Every time anyone got suspicious, he would find out and take it out on me. I wanted to tell you, I really did, but I was so scared that he would..." I trailed off, unable to continue what I was saying. Edward put his arms around me and held me as I sobbed.

"It's okay," he said softly as he stroked my back soothingly. "You're safe now. I'm going to call Charlie and-"

"No!" I exclaimed as I pulled back and shook my head. "You can't tell anyone about this, Edward."

"Bella, your dad is a cop. When we tell him what James has been doing to you, he'll be arrested and won't ever bother you again. Of course, I'm going to get my hands on him first and guarantee that it will be physically impossible for him to beat you up again."

"You can't," I said again.

"Why not? Why are you protecting him, Bella?"

"I'm not! Look, I'd just rather wait for the right time to tell him. I think it would be best if I could talk to him about it myself."

After several minutes of arguing, Edward finally gave in and agreed to give me until Monday to tell Charlie. That only gave me the rest of Saturday and Sunday to tell him about James. Once the weekend was over, I would ask him for more time. I wanted to see how long Edward would hold out before finally telling him.

Honestly, I didn't want my dad to know at all. I knew he would be more protective and probably never look at me the same way again. Even more so, I was terrified of what James would do once he knew I had slipped up. Edward said everything would be all right, but it sounded way too good to be true.

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So, now Edward knows! What did you guys think of his reaction? What will he do next time he sees James? ;)

**4 reviews** til the next contest winner!


	8. Chapter 7

This chapter is dedicated to Goddess Of Writing, who won the contest for my story You Belong with Me. Be sure to check out her stories!

Oh, and as for the sequel, please just ignore that for now. I finished this story a while back and started on it, but I'm obviously rewriting this one, so it won't make any sense if you try to read it now. For one, I originally had made up my own character named Andrew and then changed his name to James and also the original version of this story was just down right awful, so yeah. This story is still in progress (I didn't abandon it).

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!

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Bella's POV

James didn't bother me at all during the weekend, but I wasn't sure how I should feel about that. Was he not in the mood for beating me? Or was he just waiting for the perfect moment to strike me down? I really hoped it was the first, but knowing James, it was probably the latter.

Edward and Alice both practically lived at my house on Saturday and Sunday, which I was grateful for. Sure, I was still kind of mad about the whole diary thing, but I wasn't up for holding a grudge against two of my closest friends. And I felt safer when I wasn't alone. As for the hole Edward punched in the wall, Alice had brought over an extra calendar from their house and hung it up to cover it. Charlie was bound to find it eventually, but I was hoping it would be after I left for college.

On Monday morning, I dreaded going back to school. As usual, my dreams from the night before were nothing more than James filled nightmares. Today was going to change everything. Either Edward would lose it and tell Charlie or James would come over and finish me off once and for all or something else huge would happen. Whatever went down later, it wasn't going to end well for me.

"So," Edward said when we were on the way to school. My truck was back at home and working as of Sunday, but Edward insisted on driving me for a few more days. Charlie thought he was just being nice so I wouldn't have to waste money on gas, but I knew the real reason. "How did Charlie take the news?"

"He didn't," I said. "I haven't told him yet."

Edward sighed as if he had already known. "You need to tell him, Bella. He deserves to know."

"You know, this is a lot harder than you're making it sound. It's a big deal and it will change my life forever. I just don't think I can do it."

"I can tell him, if you want."

"No, it's not that. He's going to blame himself and watch me all the time to make sure I'm safe. I can't imagine living like that."

"He's your dad, Bella. He needs to know, even if it is life changing news."

I sighed. "I know. I just need more time to think about it before I do." He smiled sadly and rubbed my hand as he pulled into a parking spot. He started to open his door, but I stopped him.

"Edward, I need you to promise me something. Please, no matter what happens today, just stay away from James. Nothing good will come from getting him mad."

Edward looked angry, but he kept his voice calm. "I can't promise anything."

"Please, Edward," I pleaded. "We'll figure this out and he'll get his punishment, but I don't want you getting involved. It will only get more complicated and I don't know if I can handle that right now. Just leave him alone today, okay?"

He thought for a second before replying. "I'm not going to go out of my way to find him, but if he so much as looks at you..." He trailed off, but I knew what he was thinking.

"I guess that's the best I'm going to get out of you, huh?" He got out of the car without saying anything and I followed him into the school. We made it through the first half of the school day without a problem and I was starting to think Edward might actually leave James alone like I'd asked. He seemed calm when I was walking to lunch with him and I prayed he would stay that way.

"Hey, where's your Spanish book?" he asked. I looked down and saw I had accidentally taken a History textbook from my last class instead of my Spanish book.

"Well, that's great," I sighed. "I guess I'm going to head back to class to trade these out. Hopefully, Mr. Benson is still in there."

"Want me to come with you?"

"Nah, I'm good. Why don't you go get in line and I'll meet up with you in a few minutes?"

He nodded. "All right. See you in a few." We went our separate ways and I headed back to my third period class. Mr. Benson had already left, but luckily his door was still open. I swapped the books out and started down the hall again. When I rounded the corner, I rammed into someone and dropped my book.

"Ouch," I mumbled as I leaned down to grab it. "Sorry."

"It's all good." My eyes widened at the sound of his voice and I looked up to see James. He smiled and offered his hand to pull me up. I ignored it and stood on my own. I started to walk away, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked. He shoved me up against the lockers and pushed my textbook back to the ground. He smiled as his hand trailed down my cheek and I felt chills run down my spine. Before he could do anything else, Edward came out of nowhere and pushed him away. James rammed into the lockers and I took a step back. What was he doing here? I thought he was in the cafeteria.

Suddenly, they were both throwing punches at each other and I didn't know what to do. What if the principal came? Edward would get in so much trouble.

"Edward!" I shouted at him. "Stop it!" He looked up at me and the distraction was long enough for James to push him up against the opposite wall and punch him in the face again. I ran over and grabbed James's arm before he could do anything else. He raised his fist at me and I flinched, preparing for the blow.

"Don't you dare," Edward said in a voice that would make most people wet their pants as he stepped in front of me. His lip was busted and bleeding slightly, but other than that he looked fine. James, on the other hand, had a black eye and a bleeding nose.

Edward continued, "If you ever lay a hand on her again, I'll make your life a hundred times worse than the hell you've made hers." They were standing dangerously close now and I feared another fight would break out.

"Come on, Edward," I said as I tugged at his arm. He looked at me and nodded before leaning down to grab my textbook, which was still on the floor. I looked around and realized that we'd had an audience. At least twenty kids were standing around watching and already gossiping about what had just happened. I bet a few of them even got it recorded on their cell phones. I put my head down to avoid their gazes and walked away.

"Hey," Edward said as he hurried to catch up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"No you're not. Do you want me to take you home?" I stopped walking and turned to face him.

"No, Edward, I don't want you to take me home. What the heck was that back there? Did you seriously think it was a good idea to pick a fight with James? You're lucky none of the teachers saw that!"

He scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. "What are you talking about? I was protecting you!"

"Protecting me from what? Nothing was even happening until you decided to show up!"

"Really? Because the look on your face seemed to say otherwise!"

"What were you doing there, anyway? I told you to wait in the cafeteria. Were you following me?"

"I would be a bad friend if I hadn't!"

"I don't need you following me around and protecting me! I can handle this. I've been doing it for the past month on my own, okay? If you wanted to help, maybe you should have tried when it first started!"

"I would have if I had known!"

"Well, maybe you should have made Alice read my diary last month!" He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why did he even do that when he was frustrated? That habit had never made sense to me.

"I'm sorry about that," he finally said. "I'm sorry for thinking you wanted my help. I just- I can't help it. I feel like it's my job to keep you safe and I'm willing to do anything to make that happen. I love you, Bella."

My eyes widened and I stared at him in shock. Why was he doing this to me? Had Alice read more of my diary than I knew and told her brother how I felt about him? And now he was using it against me so I would be more willing to let him deal with James.

"What kind of a sick joke is this?" I asked as tears came to my eyes, but I refused to cry in front of him. "I thought you were my friend."

"What are you talking about?" He looked hurt and I almost believed that he was telling the truth. Almost. "I just admitted my feelings for you. If you think that it's just a big joke, then you're not the person I thought you were." He walked away and I watched him leave. Oh, gosh, what if he was being serious? What if he really did love me? No, he couldn't. If he did, why was he just now admitting it? No, this was just another trick to distract me. It had to be. Still, I couldn't help but feel like I'd just made the biggest mistake of my life.

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Aw, isn't that horrible? :( Any who, I hope you're all enjoying the story! The next winner will be the 100th reviewer!

Just FYI: I'm going to the beach tomorrow (yay!) so I won't be updating for a few days. Sorry to disappoint you guys!

Remember to check out Goddess Of Writing's stories!


	9. Chapter 8

Hey, guys! So I just got back from vacation and I figured I'd give you an extra long chapter. Enjoy! ;D

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

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Bella's POV

The rest of the day was very awkward, to say the least. I decided to ditch lunch and go to the library instead, but that didn't mean I was able to stay away from Edward for long. I had Pre-Cal and Biology with him and we both tried our best to avoid each other. It was so weird sitting next to him and not saying anything or even looking at him for that matter.

Unfortunately, we had to work in partners for our experiment in Biology, which was dissecting frogs. Great. This just wasn't my day. Our substitute, Mr. Haring, passed out the bags of dead frogs and I stared at ours. Poor frog. It never had a chance. Edward cleared his throat and I looked up at him without thinking. I expected him to avoid looking at me, but it was worse. He looked like he was lost in thought and his eyes were completely devoid of any emotion. He looked...dead.

"We need to open the package now," he said. His voice didn't sound normal at all and I knew that I should talk to him, but not at school. There was no way he was acting now and maybe he really meant what he said earlier. But how could that be true? It seemed awfully convenient for him to suddenly fall in love with me now, after his sister read my diary and he wants me to be okay with him practically killing James. He never acted like he was in love with me, though. Well, except Friday night at the movie theater, but that didn't count. He only wanted to distract me so Alice could snoop around when I was off in la la land.

"Bella," Edward's voice broke me out of my thoughts. "Can you give me the scissors, or do you want to open it?" I looked down and realized I had been fidgeting with a pair of scissors. Everyone else in the room had already taken their frogs out of the bags and were moving on. I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks as I handed the scissors to him.

"Sorry," I mumbled. Well, that was embarrassing. The rest of the period passed without another word from my best friend and I was really starting to regret our earlier conversation.

"Edward," I said when the bell rang. "I need to talk to you. Earlier, I made a huge mistake and I-"

"It's all right, Bella," he told me as he picked up his backpack. "I understand."

"No, I need to explain. I thought-"

"There's nothing to explain. You made your feelings very clear and I'm going to have to live with that." He walked away and I started to follow him.

"Wait! Edward," I sighed and went back for my backpack before heading to my last class. What have I done? I walked into Spanish a few seconds before the bell and everyone was staring at me as I headed to the back of the room.

"I heard she hooked up with Edward over the weekend and James found out," one girl said to her friend.

"I bet she's pregnant," another girl was saying.

"With Edward or James's baby?"

"Who knows? I bet she's been sleeping with both of them." I looked at the ground and hurried to my seat as the bell rang. Everyone was already spreading rumors about the fight at lunch. I put my head in my hands and groaned. I was more than ready to go home and try to pretend this whole day never happened.

"What happened?" Alice asked from next to me. She was a year younger than me, but she took some advanced classes and wound up in a class with me. "Edward's acting all weird and everyone's talking about a fight between him and James. Please tell me this is just a stupid rumor."

"I wish it was," I told her.

She shook her head and sighed. "I should have seen that coming. So, did he get in trouble or something?"

I shook my head. "He didn't get caught."

"Then why is he acting weird? Did something happen between you two?"

I sighed. "It's a long story. He told me," I hesitated for a second. It felt so weird to say it out loud. "He told me he loves me." I waited for her reaction, but all she did was gesture for me to continue.

"Go on."

"I don't think you heard me: Edward told me he _loves _me."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Well, duh, everyone knows that. What happened after that?"

"Hello, Alice! Your brother just admitted his feelings for me! It's a pretty big deal!"

"Well, of course it is. Now get to the good part! What happened when you told him you feel the same way?"

"Actually, I didn't tell him that..." I trailed off, unsure of what to say next.

Alice's eyes widened. "What do you mean you didn't? What did you tell him?"

"Well, I kind of thought it was a trick so I would let him help with...you know who...so, I inadvertently made him think I didn't, you know, love him back."

"What?" Alice shouted, catching the attention of the whole class. Everyone stopped talking and stared at us. I looked down and bit my lip, trying to avoid their gazes. "Which is what 'qué' means in English," she went on awkwardly. "Right, Bella?" I nodded my head and sighed in relief as everyone went back to their work.

"How could you do that?" Alice whisper-yelled.

"It was an accident! I realized it was a mistake and tried talking to him last period, but he wouldn't listen and I doubt he's going to answer my calls. What should I do, Alice?"

"Oh gosh, Bella, this isn't good. Edward can get very moody at times. What we need is for you to talk to him when he can't get away." She thought for a minute. "I've got it! You should come sleep over tonight. You and I can hang out and you'll trap him in his own house. It's brilliant!"

I nodded. It sounded good to me. Time with Alice, a chance to tell Edward how I feel, not to mention another night without having to worry about James. "Sounds perfect."

"I know! So,what time should I pick you up?"

"I'll just meet you there. My truck is okay to drive now."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot."

"Actually, do you mind giving me a ride home from school? Edward drove me this morning and I don't think he's in the mood for driving me home."

"Of course," she smiled. Someone cleared their throat and we looked up to see Mrs. Burns standing in front of us. She had her hands on her hips and her eyebrows were raised like she couldn't believe the warm-up would be so boring that we want to talk instead of doing it.

"Sorry," I mumbled before starting on the warm-up. An hour later, the class was over and it was finally time to go home. I looked for Edward, but as I had guessed, he was already gone. Alice took me home and I couldn't help but feel horrible about what I'd done to him. I couldn't even imagine what it would have felt like if I had told him how I felt and he reacted the way I did. What was wrong with me?

"Do you want me to come in with you?" Alice asked as we pulled up at my house. "I might as well just wait for you to pack and drive you back to my place."

"No, it's all right," I told her as I opened the door. "I have some stuff to take care of first. I'll text you when I'm on the way."

"Okay." We said our goodbyes and I headed inside. Charlie's police cruiser was outside, so I guess he was home early. Well, this was going to ruin my plan.

"Hey, Bells!" he called when I walked in. He came around the corner in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.

"Hey, Dad. Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I took the rest of the day off. I thought I could spend a bit of time with my baby girl." He came over and gave me a side hug and smiled.

"Let me guess," I said as I squeezed out of his arms. "Edward called?" Even though he was upset and hurt, I knew he wanted to make sure I was safe. He was a really good friend.

He nodded. "He's worried about you, Bells. I'm not sure what's going on and I know you don't want to tell me, but I want to be here for you."

I sighed. "Dad, I'm fine; Edward is just overreacting. I was actually planning on spending the night at Alice's, so you don't have to babysit me. Is that all right?"

He nodded. "Sure. Alice is good people."

"Yeah, she is," I smiled. "Why don't you go out with the guys? I mean, you already took the night off, so you might as well do something."

"Well, Billy did say he wanted to go check out some new boats."

"Then what are you still doing here?" I pushed him towards the door. "Go look at boats!"

"You're right," he said as he headed out the door. "Tell Alice hi for me."

"Bye, Dad," I said as I closed the door after him. That was easy. I hurried up the stairs and went straight to my room. I started going through my closet and threw everything on my bed as I searched for the perfect outfit. I wanted to look good, but I didn't want to look like I was trying too hard. Then again, maybe I _should _dress up to show Edward that this meant a lot to me and that I really do love him. But if I looked dressed up, it would look like I cared more about myself than rushing over there to explain the misunderstanding. I groaned as I continued my search. This was much harder than I thought it would be.

After half an hour, I finally decided on a dark blue blouse that Alice had bought for me and some jeans and some black flats. The only problem was that the flats hurt my feet and I decided to switch to a pair of converse instead. Who cares what my feet look like, anyway? After I put the outfit on, I stood in front of the mirror and examined myself. It would have to do.

"Edward," I said as I stared in the mirror and pretended he was there. "Ever since we met ten years ago, you've been my best friend. You were always there for me and-" I stopped and shook my head. He would have already walked away at that point.

"Edward! It's so good to see you! I need to let you know that I'm in love with you. I have been for a long time and what the heck am I doing?" I shook my head as I realized what I was doing. I walked away from the mirror and started packing clothes. I guess I'd just have to wing it and hope I don't ruin the moment. When I finally finished up, I sent Alice a text saying I'd be there in ten minutes and headed downstairs with my bag in one hand. When I was in the living room, I saw a stack of boxes in front of the front door. I don't remember putting those there.

"Going somewhere?" My eyes widened as I whipped my head around to see James sitting on the couch with a baseball bat in hand. He glared at me and stood up. "I don't think so, babe."

_Oh, my God, oh my God, oh my God! _I thought as I dropped my bag and ran for the front door. I tried to pick up the box that was on the top of the stack, but it was way too heavy and nearly squished my foot as it fell to the ground. A few of Charlie's old weights rolled out and I thought about picking one up to use as a weapon, but they were way too heavy and I would probably just hurt myself. I turned to see James right in front of me preparing to swing the bat and I only had time to put my arms up and block my face. I screamed as it hit my left arm with enough force to really cause damage. I had to get out of there.

I ignored the pain in my arm as I ran for the stairs. James stood back and watched in amusement as I tripped over my shoelace on one of the last steps. His hand grabbed my right foot before I could get up and I felt tears running down my cheeks as I struggled to get away. Was this it? Was he finally going to kill me? Pain shot up my leg and I screamed as he twisted my ankle. He started to pull me down, but I refused to let him get me that easily. I kicked him with my other leg and he loosened his grip enough for me to slip my foot out of my shoe and run to my room. I leaned against the door and dug through my pocket for my phone. I dialed the only person I could think of and put it to my ear.

"Come on," I muttered as it rung. I felt a pound on the door as James tried to get in. Why didn't I get a door with a lock? My heart beat was getting faster as I realized I wouldn't be able to keep him out forever. He was stronger than me and very angry.

_Hi, this is Edward. I'm not here right now, so leave a message and I'll try to get back to you later._ I waited for the beep as I struggled to hold the door shut. I didn't have time to call anyone else at this point.

"Edward!" I sobbed into the phone. Tears were streaming down my face as I realized he would never be able to get here in time, but I had to try. If I died tonight, at least he would have proof of who did it and arrest him. Somehow, that thought didn't comfort me much. "He's here- James, I mean- he's trying to kill me! I-" I yelped as the door shook more and I banged my injured arm against the wall. "Please help me! I'm sorry about earlier, I just really need you now! I-" I screamed as the door flew open and I fell forward. My cell phone skidded across the floor and under my bed. I tried to get up, but he flung me onto my back and stood over me.

"I thought I told you not to tell anyone," he said as he swung the bat. It hit my stomach before I could do anything and knocked the air out of me. "You think you can just tell Cullen and get everything back to your little fairytale world?" He stomped on my left arm and I screamed as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Stop!" I begged. "Please!" He stood back and waited as I stood up. I grabbed my arm and held it to my chest. I thought it might be broken. James backed me up against the wall and wrapped his hands around my neck. I gagged as he lifted me off the ground.

"I told you to stay quiet!" he yelled in my face. "Where's Cullen now, huh? Is he about to run in and save you? I don't see him anywhere!" I couldn't breathe. My vision was going blurry and I was about to pass out. James seemed to notice and set me down. He hated it when I went unconscious before he was done with me. He picked his baseball bat back up and I closed my eyes as he swung it, only it didn't hit me. Instead, he aimed for the window that I was standing next to.

"What are you doing?" I asked before I could stop myself. Why would he hit the window instead of me? It didn't make any sense. He grabbed my arm and pushed me forward until I was directly in front of it. My eyes widened as the realization hit me.

"James," I pleaded as I looked at him. "Please don't do this. I promise I won't tell anyone. I'll make sure Edward stays quiet, too, okay?"

He shook his head. "Too late, babe." He turned me around and pushed me so I could see out the window. The ground looked so far away. I nearly fell as he pushed me and I screamed as I held onto the sides of the wall for dear life.

"James, please," I sobbed. I looked behind me for anything I could use as a weapon and saw a vase full of flowers that Alice had put on my nightstand a few days ago. _Please let this work, _I prayed as I devised a plan in my head. Before James could shove me out the window, I grabbed his arm and dug my nails into it. He shouted, more from shock than pain, and I backed away. I grabbed the vase and lifted it over my head, but he ducked when I threw it and I missed him completely. Glass shattered all over the floor and I picked up a big piece that had landed next to me.

"Nice try," James said as he grabbed my arm and made me drop the shard of glass. He started to pull me back to my window and my struggles were no match for his strength. Suddenly, he slipped in the puddle of water from the vase and lost his balance. He let go of me and grabbed the windowsill before he went straight through. He looked at me with hatred and I knew what I had to do. He seemed to know what I was about to do, but he didn't freak out.

"No matter what you do," he said. "No matter how many people are trying to protect you, I'll always be nearby, waiting for revenge. And I _will_ get it. I don't care how many other people I have to kill in the process."

I ignored his words and without a second thought, I used all of my strength to push him out the window. He didn't make another sound as he fell through the air until there was a sickening thud as he hit the ground. His body was motionless and he laid in an awkward position. I looked away, unable to watch him any longer. Was he dead? I didn't know and the thought made me want to throw up. Had I just _killed_ someone? And not just any person, but James.

My head was spinning and I sank to the ground next to the window, ignoring all the shards of glass as I tried to calm down. The pain in my arm was enough to make me want to pass out and the rest of my body was aching, some places more than others. I lifted my right hand and saw how much I was shaking. My heart was racing and I stared at the wall in shock. I had almost been killed tonight. I think I'm going to be sick.

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So, what did you think? Is James dead or will he stay true to his promise? Edward's POV next chapter!

Next contest winner will be reviewer number 100!


	10. Chapter 9

Hey, guys! So, here's Edward's POV! Yay! Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

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Edward's POV

I walked into the house to find Alice pacing back and forth. She had her cell phone to her ear and looked really worried. I grabbed the towel that I had left on the couch and started drying myself off. I was soaking wet from the rain, but I didn't really care.

"Where have you been?" she asked when she saw me.

"Running," I told her as I turned my mp3 player off and took the headphones out of my ear.

"It's raining."

"So, what? It's always raining in Forks."

"Since when do you run in the middle of the day?"

"Since when do you care?"

"Ugh!" she stomped her foot. "I don't have time for this! Have you talked to Bella?"

I scoffed. Hearing her name only made my heart ache, but I ignored it. If I let Alice know how hurt I really was, she was going to lecture me about my feelings until I agree to talk to Bella and straighten this out. "What makes you think I talked to her?"

"I don't know, I just figured she might have called you. She was supposed to be here like twenty minutes ago and now she won't answer her phone. I'm really getting worried."

Horrible thoughts started going through my mind and I tried to push them out as quickly as they came. Maybe she had called while I was gone. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed my phone from where I'd left it on the counter. I sighed in relief when I saw that I had missed a call from her just fifteen minutes ago.

"So?" Alice urged from behind me.

"She probably just got held up somewhere."

"Did she leave a voicemail?"

I nodded. "Yeah, let me check it." I called my voicemail and waited for it to play the message back.

_Edward! He's here- James, I mean- he's trying to kill me!_

I dropped my phone before I could hear anymore and rushed to the front door. Oh, no. No, no, no! Alice said she wasn't picking up her phone. Did that mean...? No, it couldn't. She was alive and breathing. She had to be.

"Edward!" Alice was calling as she hurried to catch up. "What's going on?"

"He's there," I told her as I got into the driver's seat of my car. Her eyes widened and she jumped in the passenger seat as I drove off. Once we were on the road, I pressed down on the gas as far as it would go. A few cars honked at me, but I didn't care. I had more important things to worry about. Alice held up my cell phone and turned the screen on.

"Why the heck did you bring that thing?" I asked.

"I want to hear the voicemail for myself," she said as she pushed some buttons. "Maybe we'll get some sort of clue as to whether or not she's...you know..." She couldn't bring herself to say the word and I didn't even want to think about it.

"I'm going to kill that bastard when I get my hands on him," I told her as I passed a slow car.

"I'll help." I was sure Emmett and Jasper would say the same when they found out about what's been going on. Looks like James messed with the wrong girl. It wasn't fair for me to get so mad at her at lunch. I shouldn't have expected her to love me back and even if she did, it wasn't right to tell her that when she already had so much to worry about. I'm not sure when I had started loving her as more than a friend, but I had always had a crush on her. I still remember the day we met clearly.

_"Hey! Look at me, Edward!" Emmett called to me while we were playing on the playground before school. He was standing up on top of one end on the teeter totter while a little boy struggled to keep the other end down and Emmett in the air. "I can fly!" He jumped down from about two feet in the air and fell face first into the gravel. He lifted his head, his mouth full of pebbles, and grinned._

_"That was so much fun!" he called as he ran back to where I was standing._

_"Okay, Emmett," I said impatiently. "It's time for the monkey bars!" We raced each other to where the monkey bars were. Along the way, we stepped through the sandbox where Alice and some of her friends were playing._

_"Hey!" Alice called after us. "You guys ruined my sand castle! I'm gonna tell Mommy when we get home!"_

_"Sorry, Alice!" I called back, knowing she wasn't lying about that. Emmett and I skidded to a stop next to the monkey bars._

_"I call first!" he said._

_"No fair! You just had your turn!" We both started climbing the ladder and kept pushing the other one off._

_"Nuh uh! I got my turn at _flying_, not playing on the monkey bars!" I pushed him off and started up again._

_"Well, I didn't get to fly!"_

_"That's not my fault!"_

_"Look at her hair!" I heard a girl say from over by the swings. "And ugh! Look at that face! She's completely hideous!" I looked over there to see Lauren and her posse laughing at a girl who was sitting on the swing. She was looking down, like she'd been crying. She had long, wavy brown hair and a blue sundress on. I didn't think she was hideous. In fact, I thought she was the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. I didn't really notice when Emmett pushed me off of the ladder and onto the ground. I just kept staring at the girl._

_"Now, get off the swing!" Lauren yelled and pushed the girl off. Everyone laughed and Jessica seemed to notice the girl's outfit for the first time._

_"Who would ever wear _that?_" Jessica pointed to the girl's dress._

_"Ha ha, I won!" I barely heard Emmett say as he finished going across the monkey bars._

_"I know how we can make it look better," Mike said as he grinned and picked up a pile of mud. He threw it at the girl, striking her in the middle of her dress and they all laughed._

_"Um, Edward?" Emmett was saying next to me. He waved a hand in front of my face._

_"Huh?" I asked, not turning away from the scene at the swings._

_"Whatcha looking at?" he asked and I pointed to the swing set. The girl was crying._

_"Stop it! My daddy gave this to me!" They laughed at her some more and I couldn't take it any more. I stood up and walked over to where they stood._

_"What do you want, Cullen?" Mike asked._

_"Leave her alone!" I called, sounding as tough as a seven year old could. Newton had always gotten on my nerves. Now, I would hate him even more if he didn't back off._

_"Whatcha gonna do?" Mike asked sarcastically. "Call my mom?" Everyone else laughed at his joke._

_"I'm serious. Back off, Newton."_

_"Make me," Mike said, balling his fists. I shrugged._

_"You asked for it." No one at school knew, but my parents had taught Emmett, Alice, and I a few lessons in self defense. I pulled my fist back and flung it straight for Newton's nose. I heard a cracking noise and he screamed, grabbing his bloody nose. Mike, terrified now, ran away, followed by about ten other kids. I grinned and turned to the girl._

_"You need some help?" I asked, offering my hand. She looked up at me gratefully and took my hand. I pulled her up and she dusted off her dress, ignoring the mud stain for the time being._

_"Thanks," she said. "Do they always pick on kids like that?" _

_I nodded. "All the time. But I doubt they'll be bothering you again," I grinned at her and she grinned back. It was the prettiest smile I had ever seen. _

_"I'm Edward, by the way." I said, offering my hand again._

_"Bella," she replied, shaking my hand._

_"That's a pretty name," I said out loud by accident. I blushed and she giggled. It wasn't the way giggles from girls like Lauren sounded, all high pitched and annoying. Hers was different some how._

_"Well, thank you for saving me, Edward. You're the only kid who's been nice to me all morning."_

_"Not a problem. You can hang out with me and my cousin Emmett, if you want. He can be kind of annoying sometimes, but he's cool." She smiled at me._

_"I'd like that." I saw her glance down at the mud stain on her dress._

_"Come on. There's a sink in Ms. Sherman's classroom. What grade are you in?"_

_"First."_

_"Great! Me too! So we're in the same class then." _

_She smiled, obviously happy about this. "Okay." _

_I offered her my left hand and she took it._

_"You want to run?" I asked with a huge grin on my face and she nodded. Together, we ran for our classroom. And at that moment, even though I'd just met Bella, I knew it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship._

"Oh, my God," Alice's outburst brought me back to the present and I sped up. "He's sick." If anything had happened to her, I'd never forgive myself. I should have told Charlie when I had the chance. I should have had my cell phone with me or at least made sure Charlie was staying home. By now, it could already be too late.

After what seemed like hours, we pulled up at the Swan residence. I got out of the car without even bothering to take out the key or shut the door behind me. When I got to the front door, it was locked. My heart raced and I dug through my pocket frantically as I searched for my key. I put it in the door when I found it and turned the knob, but it wouldn't budge.

"What the...?" I mumbled as I started to push the door open. Something was blocking it and it wouldn't open more than an inch or two. I didn't have time for this.

"Edward, look." Alice pointed up to Bella's bedroom window. It was broken. Why was it broken? I turned back to the window beside the door and punched it. The glass shattered and some of it cut my hand, but I didn't care. I had to get upstairs as soon as possible. I felt around the inside of the window until I was able to unlock it and opened it up. Alice followed me inside and we both rushed up the stairs. One of her shoes was on a step about halfway up and I tried not to think about how it had gotten there. Bella's bedroom door was wide open, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, God." Alice put her hand over her mouth at the scene before us. The window was broken, as we had seen from outside, but there was also a broken vase on the floor. Flowers, water, and glass were everywhere and I think I even saw some blood. A baseball bat was lying by the window and I felt sick to my stomach.

"Bella?" I called out uncertainly as I searched the other rooms. _Please be here, _I thought. If he had taken her somewhere, chances were I'd never get to her in time.

"Edward," Alice said as I was searching Charlie's room. "Come here." I followed her to Bella's bathroom. The light was on and I could hear a strange noise inside.

"Bella?" I called again as we walked in. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw her sitting in front of the toilet throwing up. Sure, she was puking her guts out, but she was breathing. She looked relieved to see us, but another emotion that I couldn't describe was there as well.

"Edward," she said. "Alice. I'm glad you're here."

"Are you okay?" Alice asked as she stepped forward. "I called you like twenty times! And then that voicemail you left on Edward's phone- I get chills just thinking about it."

"Sorry," she said as she wiped her mouth. "Do I have puke in my hair?"

"No," I said as I stepped forward and started to pull her up. She yelped when I grabbed her arm and I stepped back. She held it to her chest in an awkward position and I knew something had to be wrong with it.

"We need to get you to the hospital," I told her. I offered my hand and she took it with her uninjured arm. "Is anything else bothering you?"

"My ankle." I looked down and realized she was keeping her weight off of her right foot. "My ribs kind of hurt, too."

"Where's James now?" Alice asked. Bella flinched at his name and I took her good hand in mine.

"I pushed him out the window."

"What?" I asked in surprise. "How did you do that?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Bella," Alice said slowly. "James wasn't on the ground when we got here."

"What? That's impossible! He- he's dead! He has to be! He was there just a few minutes ago!"

Alice shook her head. "He's gone."

Bella shook her head frantically as tears rolled down her cheeks. "No, no. He can't be alive. He's going to kill me! He-he tried to..." She broke off into a fit of sobs and I held her to my chest, careful not to touch her injured arm.

"It's okay," I told her as I rubbed her back. "You're safe now. I'm not going to let him hurt you." I took a step back and realized how much she was trembling. She was really terrified.

"Come on," I told her as I lifted her into my arms. "We need to get you to a doctor." She stayed quiet as I carried her downstairs. Alice grabbed her other tennis shoe on the way down and I saw the huge stack of boxes in front of the door. James's work.

"Hold on a second," I said as I set her down on the last step of the stairs. Alice sat down next to her and tried to calm her down a bit. I walked over to the stack of boxes and started moving them over a few feet. They were all heavy and I opened one up out of curiosity. Inside, there were four huge weights. James was trying to lock Bella inside and it looks like he succeeded. He was a sick man. I hurried to move the rest of the boxes out of the way and carried Bella out to the car.

"I can walk, you know," she said when we were on her porch. The rain had only gotten harder and it looked like a storm was coming in.

I shook my head. "You're hurt and you don't exactly have the best balance. I don't think it's a good idea to let you run out there in the pouring rain.

"Edward," she whined as she tried to get down. "Set me down." I ignored her as I hurried out to my Volvo. Alice opened the back door for me and I set Bella down.

"I'll drive," she said.

"Thanks," I told her as I slid into the backseat. Alice drove over the speed limit and passed every car that got in our way. Honestly, I was kind of afraid that we'd have an accident, but I didn't say anything. Bella stared out her window the whole time and didn't say anything. She was acting so weird and it scared me. Then again, she _was _almost killed by a monster that she once called her boyfriend. I'm pretty sure that gave her the right to act strange.

Alice pulled up to the curb at the hospital and I got out, planning on carrying Bella again, but she was already limping out. She started to slip on the wet sidewalk and I caught her before she fell.

"Be careful," I told her. I heard Alice drive away to find a parking spot and turned back to the front door. I put my arm around Bella's waist and helped her into the hospital waiting room. I started for the front desk, but she pulled me back.

"Don't tell them what happened," she said. "Tell them I fell out of a tree or something."

I shook my head. "I'm not going to make that mistake again. It's time to stop protecting him, Bella." She sighed, but said nothing more as I helped her over to the front desk. The receptionist must have been new because I didn't recognize her. She was staring at her computer screen and completely ignored us.

"Hey," I said to get her attention. She looked up with an irritated look on her face. "I need to see Dr. Carlisle Cullen."

"He's busy. Can I take a message?"

"This is really important. Can you just tell him to come out?"

"Are you bleeding to death?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

"Look, kid, Dr. Cullen is busy. I can get you in with another doctor if you want to make an appointment."

"This is an _emergency_. My best friend-" I gestured to Bella.

"She's wet," she commented.

"Yes, she's wet. It's raining outside! But she's also hurt. I think she broke her arm."

"That doesn't change the fact that Dr. Cullen is _busy._ Dr. Boman has an opening in about two hours and I'm sure he'll be happy to help you."

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. This was just too much to deal with in one day. "Listen, lady, my best friend almost got killed by her boyfriend less than an hour ago. If you don't let me in there to see my dad, I'll make sure you don't have a job by tomorrow morning."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "You're Dr. Cullen's son?"

"Yes, I am. Will you please get him for me?"

"Well, um, he's in the middle of a surgery right now, but I can get you in with another doctor until he's out."

"That will have to do." She made a phone call and started leading us back to a room.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she walked us there. "I had no idea! Please don't tell your dad about this."

"Hey," Alice popped up behind me. "What did I miss?"

"Dad's busy," I told her. "We're getting another doctor until he's done." She nodded as we walked into a room.

"Go ahead and sit down. The doctor will be in momentarily." The receptionist left and the three of us stayed in our awkward silence. Bella got up on the counter and stayed there for a minute. She lifted up her shirt slightly to examine it and my eyes widened at the bruises I saw. There were definitely more than when she showed me a few days ago. My hands turned to fists and I was ready to punch something. Again.

"I'm going to go get some food," I lied as I left the room. I couldn't be in there any longer. I was going to find James.

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So, what do you guys think? Only 7 more reviews til the 100th reviewer, who will win the contest!

And also, I would like to give a shout out to a very important person in my life whose birthday just happens to be today. Happy Birthday to my bff Hannah (aka kittyallstars)! :D Hope it's as awesome as you are!


	11. Chapter 10

And here's a long chapter. Enjoy! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!

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Bella's POV

"So, your friend said you were throwing up when they found you," Dr. Williams stated. He'd been asking me questions for the past half hour or so and it was really beginning to make me uncomfortable. Alice had left a few minutes before to call my dad. This day was just getting worse and worse.

"Yeah," I answered. "What does that have to do with this?"

"I just need to know." He looked up from his clipboard. "Is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

"What?" I honestly had no idea what to say. "Why would you even ask that?"

"I just want to make sure these aren't early signs of pregnancy."

"I was throwimg up because I felt sick to my stomach after almost being _killed!"_ He didn't seem to care about what I'd just said and continued to prod.

"Just tell me: did James ever touch you in an inappropriate way?"

"Oh, you mean like the way he always beat me up? I think that's pretty inappropriate, don't you?"

"Bella," he put his hand on my knee and I quickly shook it off. "I think you know what I'm asking."

"Is Carlisle done yet? I'd feel a lot more comfortable talking to him."

"Did he ever rape you?" I flinched at the word. I had nightmares thinking about what could happen to me and I hated hearing them out loud, especially from an insensitive doctor.

"No." And thank God it was the truth. I was lucky to not have been abused in that way, as well.

"Is that so?" Dr. Williams raised his eyebrows as he took notes. I scrunched my eyebrows together. What was that supposed to mean?

"Yes, it is," I said slowly.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Okay, what's going on here? I already told you the answer."

"It's just- most cases like these include not just one type of abuse. People like James, if he really did what you claim, typically want more than just to hit a girl."

"What do you mean _if _he did it? He _did_ beat me up. Plenty of times. And he didn't just _hit _me. Are you saying I lied about this?"

He shrugged. "I'm just saying your story may be a bit hard to believe in the courtroom. The jury would be more sympathetic if you had more to your story."

"So you wanted me to get raped? Is that it?" I was yelling now, but I didn't care. Who the heck was this guy to talk to me like this?

"No, I didn't say that-"

"But that's what you meant!"

"All I'm saying is no one is going to believe you, especially if you're sticking to the story where you pushed a strong teenage boy out the window when you had a broken arm."

"It's not a story! I'm telling the truth!"

"Calm down," he started to shush me.

"_Calm down? _ You just told me that you think I'm lying when I should be _dead _right now and you want me to calm down? I'm not lying about any of this! Look at me! I'm covered in bruises and I have a broken arm, which you're supposed to be tending to!"

"Bella-"

"Shut up! I'm not answering any more of your stupid questions! Why don't you try getting beaten up constantly for weeks and see how you like it!"

"You can't talk to me this way. I'm your doctor."

"Oh, really? Then why don't you act like it?"

"Bella-"

"I'm leaving," I stated before standing up and limping towards the door.

"Hey!" Dr. Williams shouted. He stepped in front of me and grabbed my shoulders to push me back towards the counter. The movement reminded me of James and I was suddenly terrified. Was this guy a crazy lunatic? And where was Edward? He said he was only going to the cafeteria. The door flew open before anything else could happen and, to my relief, Carlisle rushed in.

"What's going on in here?" he asked. I didn't say anything, but the look on my face was enough. He looked at Dr. Williams and calmly told him to leave the room. I just sat down and stayed quiet as he tended to my wounds. I was grateful for the silence and lack of questions. Finally, I could just have a break. Or so I thought.

"Bella!" Charlie called as he came through the door. He ran over and threw his arms around me. Carlisle stepped back a bit to give us some space.

"Alice called me," he said as he stepped back and looked me over. "Are you feeling okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine, Dad."

He turned to Carlisle. "What have you found?"

"Well, she has a broken arm, a sprained ankle, some bruises, and a slight concussion. Nothing too serious, thank God, but she's pretty shaken up. I'm going to give her some medications to keep the pain down and help her emotionally. I would suggest at least a few days off of school until she feels up for it."

Charlie nodded. He was definitely feeling uncomfortable with this whole situation, but who wasn't? Well, except for that nosey doctor. He seemed anything but uncomfortable. I hope he gets fired.

"I need to go call some people," Charlie said. "Are you going to be all right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Dad, I'm fine." He turned to leave and then looked back as a thought hit him.

"I saw Edward in the waiting room when I got here. Do you want me to send him in?" I nodded and he left without another word. I still needed to clear the air with Edward and I might as well do it sooner rather than later. The door opened just about a minute later and my best friend walked in. The counter was big enough for him to sit down next to me. He was holding his right hand with his left and I picked it up, only to find out it was bleeding.

"Your hand," I said as I lifted it. "What happened?"

"The front door wouldn't open. I had to break the window. Honestly, I didn't even notice it until a few minutes ago."

"Well, it looks pretty bad. We should wrap it." Carlisle came over to examine it and turned it different ways.

"I'm going to go get some bandages and write out Bella's prescriptions. Will you two be okay here for a few minutes?" We both nodded and he left us alone in our silence.

"I went after him," Edward finally said. "The police were already looking, but I thought I might have a better chance of finding him." Of course he did. It wasn't a smart decision in my opinion, but he was safe and I was too worn out to start arguing with him.

"Any luck?"

He shook his head. "He's completely out of here. His house is deserted and his car is gone. I should have taken him down when I had the chance."

"It's not your fault," I told him.

"We'll find him. I promise." He put his arms around me and held me. I suddenly remembered what I had done to him hours before by making him think I didn't have feelings for him. He needed to know the truth.

"Edward," I pulled away. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" The eagerness he was feeling showed on his face and I wondered if he knew what I was going to say.

"It's about what happened at school today."

"Oh." He suddenly seemed interested in his hands and dropped his gaze. Well, this definitely wasn't the reaction I was hoping for.

"Look, I said some things that I didn't mean and I'm really sorry. I-"

"Don't apologize. It was my fault."

I shook my head. "No, that's not what I meant. Edward," I grabbed his chin and made him look at me. "I-" His green eyes felt like they were staring into my soul and I looked away. This had been a lot easier in my head.

"Bella, you don't have to-"

"No, I need to tell you. You're the best friend I've ever had. You've always been there for me, even in the toughest of times. My shoulder to cry on, the person I tell everything to, even the one who almost burned his house down making spaghetti when I was sick." We both laughed at the memory and it was nice to see him smile, but I had to stay on track here. "Edward, I lo-"

Of course, Carlisle chose that very moment to walk in. I tried my best not to groan in frustration, but I couldn't help it. Luckily, neither of them seemed to notice. Carlisle was writing something down on a notepad and he looked up at us.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "Was I interrupting something?" _Oh, nothing at all, _I thought sarcastically. _Great timing, Carlisle._

"It's all right," is what I actually said.

"What were you saying?" Edward asked. He looked curious and I fought the blood that was rushing to my cheeks.

"It's not important." I tried to push it off, but of course, that didn't work. This_ is _Edward we're talking about.

"Tell me. I want to hear it." I glanced at Carlisle, who was pretending not to hear our conversation, which was impossible considering he was standing about two feet away from me. What little confidence that had appeared a few minutes ago vanished and I couldn't bring myself to say it.

"Oh," I said. "Just that I love spaghetti." I smiled to convince him and he tried to hide his disappointment. I felt bad, but what the heck was I supposed to do with his dad standing right there? I'd find time to tell him later.

"Okay, Edward," Carlisle said as he began wrapping his son's hand. "You should be good as new in a few days."

"I can do it," Edward said as he pulled away. "Help Bella." Carlisle nodded and moved on to me.

"All right, Bella, I have a few things for you." He picked up a sling from the counter and started putting it around my arm. "You've broken your arm before, so I'm assuming you know how to take care of that."

"Yep," I agreed. Next, he picked up a strange looking thing that reminded me of a mummified leg. "What the heck is that thing?"

"This is an orthopedic walking boot. You'll have to wear it for the next two weeks or so until your ankle heals up." His hands moved fast, yet gently, as he strapped the thing around my right foot. "You'll need to elevate it whenever you can and put ice on it every half hour or so. I'm also recommending that you use a wheelchair for the next week."

"A wheelchair?" I raised my eyebrows in shock. "There is no way I'm using a wheelchair. Can't I just use crutches or something?"

He sighed. "I thought you'd say that. The problem is your arm is broken, as well, and you can't very well use crutches with only one hand."

"Well, I could just use one of them or something. Come on, Carlisle. People are already going to be staring at school and I'd rather not make it look worse than it is. And you know that Edward isn't going to leave my side for weeks, so it's not like I'm going to fall down and hurt myself."

"That's true," Edward added. Carlisle sighed and I knew he was giving in.

"Okay, fine, Bella. You can use just one crutch."

"Yes! Thank you, Carlisle!" I wanted to hug him, but that was kind of hard with one arm in a sling.

"That doesn't mean I agree with it, though, so be careful." He explained the medications I would have to take and how to take care of myself for the next few weeks. My mind wandered and I zoned out after a while, but I nodded occasionally so no one would notice. Honestly, I was so tired that I just wanted to go to sleep. It must have been the pills the nurse gave me earlier.

A knock on the door brought me back to reality and I wondered who it might be. Carlisle sighed and opened it up to a young police officer I'd never seen before. He was probably new, considering I knew practically the entire police force in the area.

"Can I help you, officer?" Carlisle asked. The man ignored him and walked straight towards me.

"Isabella Swan?" he asked and I nodded. "I have a few questions for you about what happened tonight."

"What is this?" Edward asked. "Her dad's a cop. I already told him the whole story."

"Yes, that may be true, but I would like to hear the story from her in private, so if you two would just leave to room for a few minutes I would appreciate it." I was honestly creeped out. What if this guy wasn't even a real cop? I reached for Edward's uninjured hand for comfort.

"We're not going anywhere." Edward stood up, but didn't let my hand go. "You already know what you need to know."

"Look, kid, I don't have time for this. I just need to clarify some information and then I'll be on my way." Edward looked like he was about to pick a fight with the guy, but luckily Carlisle stepped in.

"Officer, Bella has just been through a very traumatic time and she would feel much more comfortable talking to her father." The cop looked at Carlisle, Edward, and then me. He held my gaze much longer than necessary and I felt chills creeping down my spine. I'm not sure what it was, but something about him seemed off.

"All right," he said. "But I find that it's best in these cases when family members don't get involved. It just becomes too emotional and hard for everyone to deal with. When you're ready to talk..." He trailed off and lifted a business card. Edward tightened his grip on my hand and with my other arm in a sling, I couldn't very well grab it. The officer glanced at out connected hands and just set the card on my lap. "Call me up and I'll make sure we catch out bad guy."

He left the room and I looked down at the card. Officer Laurent Jackson. I don't remember ever hearing the name, but his picture on the card stirred a memory somewhere in the back of my mind. Where had I seen him before? And what kind of a cop handed out business cards?

"What the heck is wrong with that guy?" Edward nearly yelled. "As if she hasn't already been through enough! Now he just wants her to relive the whole thing?"

"Edward," Carlisle laid a hand on his son's shoulder to calm him down. "Why don't you take Bella home? We're pretty much done here and she must be tired by now." Edward nodded and looked at me.

"Are you ready?" I nodded and slid off of the counter. He held his good hand out and helped me stay steady. We went out to the waiting room and Carlisle gave my dad my presciptions as well as the crutch and a few other things.

"Bella!" I turned around in time to realize I was about to be tackled. Alice hesitated and seemed to think better of giving me a hug. "So it _is _broken?" She pointed to my arm and I nodded.

"Yep." Behind her, the rest of our group of friends was hurrying over and I looked accusingly at Alice.

"What?" she asked.

"You had to call everyone?"

"Well, they were going to find out eventually anyways and you're in the hospital. I had to tell them."

"Bells!" Emmett gave me an awkward side hug and held me for a few seconds. When he finally pulled away, he looked me up and down with a scowl. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine."

"You're in a hospital, Bella. That doesn't exactly qualify as fine. And oh my God, your neck!"

"I'm really tired," I said, drowning him out. He gave me a confused look and I shook my head. Edward was only a few feet away. He was going to be really mad if he found out James tried to choke me and probably do something stupid, like actually try to track him down.

"All right, Bells," Charlie said as they came back over. "Ready to head home?" I nodded

"Isn't that place like a crime scene now?" Alice asked.

"You're right," my dad said. "I hadn't thought about that."

"Not to mention it won't make Bella comfortable to be back there so soon," Jasper put in. He always understood everyone's emotions so well.

"She can stay with us for a few days." Alice suggested. "She can stay in the guest room and I have clothes she can borrow." _And fifty pairs of high heels that I'll fall in every five seconds._

"Please, Charlie," she pleaded and pulled out the puppy dog eyes.

"I don't see why not," he said. Alice smiled and thanked him. She always got her way, so this wasn't anything new for her. Our dads started talking and Alice led me out to Edward's Volvo. Edward grabbed my things from Carlisle and followed us outside.

The car ride seemed to take forever, though the Cullens' house was only a few minutes from the hospital. I couldn't stop my eyelids from drooping and it wasn't long before I fell asleep with James's smiling face in my thoughts.

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So, what do you guys think? Is James gone? What's Laurent up to? And when will Bella tell Edward about her feelings for him?

**Contest update:** Okay, so I already told you guys that the 100th reviewer would get a oneshot and I'm going to follow through with that, but I want to make sure you guys know that I'm going to stop them for a while. I know, I'm sorry, but I'm really busy with school and I want to be able to keep up with my stories, as well, but it should only be for a little while. Anyways, I hope you guys still want to review and read my stories! Thanks guys!

Okay, so have you guys seen that Bad Lip Reading video of Edward and Bella? It's so funny and like one of the most popular videos on Youtube right now, so you should check it out if you haven't seen it yet!


	12. Chapter 11

In case any of you guys were wondering about when James started beating up Bella, here's a flashback chapter about it. I'm thinking that this might be something I bring up again later, so it's kind of important. Enjoy!

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About 5 weeks earlier:

Bella's POV:

"So, what subject should we start on?" I asked as I sat down on my bed and started digging through my backpack. "There's that Biology test tomorrow and I have some History homework. What about you?"

"I have a better idea," James said as he pushed my backpack to the side and wrapped his arms around me. I smiled as he leaned in and kissed me. He was always so gentle and sweet. I heard a ringing sound, but we ignored it as he pushed me back until we were lying down. As soon as the ringing stopped, it started right back up again.

"You should probably get that," I said as he kissed my jaw.

"It can wait." I reached my arm out until I had his phone in my hand and lifted it up to see the picture of someone I didn't recognize.

"Who's-" I started to ask, but James snatched it before I could read the name. He sat up and his attitude completely changed.

"I've gotta take this," he said as he left my bedroom and closed the door behind him.

"Okay, then," I muttered after he left. That was strange. Oh, well. I sat up and started working on History homework only to realize I had written the wrong answer. I tried to erase it, but the eraser at the end of my pencil was completely used up. James had a big eraser, so I opened up his backpack and started digging around for his pencil pouch. Of course, with my clumsiness, I accidentally dropped his backpack over the edge of the bed.

"Great," I muttered as I squatted down and started picking everything up. One of his folders opened up and papers were scattered everywhere. I hurried to put them away, but a thick envelope caught my eye. Why was there an envelope in his school stuff? I looked behind me to make sure the door was still closed and lifted the opening slightly. I gasped and dropped the envelope, spilling out dozens of hundred dollar bills.

"Oh my God," I mumbled. I didn't know much about James's family, but I was sure that they weren't rich. Come to think of it, I didn't know much about James in general. Where did he get so much money? He never really opened up much. Was he a thief? Did he sell drugs?

"Sorry about that," James's voice made me jump and I hurried to put the money back in the envelope, praying he wouldn't notice. "What are you doing?" Too late. He squatted down next to me and stuffed the money back into the envelope. I stood up and crossed my arms as I looked down at him.

"I was looking for an eraser. Where did all this money come from?" James finished picking up all of the bills and slipped the envelope back into his backpack. He stood up and smiled reassuringly at me, but there was a strange look in his eyes.

"It's nothing." He brought his arms back around me and whispered in my ear. "Now, where were we?" He leaned in towards me and our lips almost touched, but I pushed him away.

"Wait," I said as I slipped out of his arms. "James, what are you doing with that money?"

"I told you. Nothing. I'm just holding them for a friend."

"Where did your friend get the money?

"His parents are rich. He said he'd give me ten percent if I hold it for him until he needs it." He tried to kiss me again, but I wasn't going to let this go so easily.

"James, this is serious. If your friend is selling drugs or something and trying to get you involved, I need to tell my dad. He can help and-"

"I'm fine, Bella. Really."

"I'm serious, James-"

"And so am I. Drop it." The look in his eyes scared me, but I couldn't let him get mixed in with the wrong crowd. I picked up my cell phone from the bed and started dialing a number.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm calling my dad." I brought the phone to my ear, but James snatched it and pressed the "end" button before it could even ring.

"What's gotten into you?" I asked. "He can help." Before I even knew what was happening, I felt my body slam into the wall behind me. James grabbed some of my hair and yanked it up until I was forced to look at him.

"Listen to me." His voice was dead serious and I was shaking. Oh, God. Was he going to kill me? What had I gotten myself into? "You're not going to talk about any of this, okay? Don't tell your dad or your stupid friends or anyone! You got that?" I nodded as best as I could. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and my whole body was shaking.

"Good," James said. He let go of my hair and took a step back. I didn't say anything as I watched him pack up his stuff and grab his phone. He strapped his backpack over his shoulders and came back to me. I tried to move, but my body was frozen on the spot. I saw his fist coming just before it jammed into my stomach and I doubled over in pain.

"Remember what that feels like," he whispered in my ear before he was gone.

"Well, look who decided to join us," Rosalie said as I walked up to the table with my lunch in my hands. "Haven't seen you in a while. Did your boyfriend dump you or something?" I had spent the past few weeks sitting with James rather than my friends. At first, I invited him to sit with us, but it didn't go too well. Long story short, Edward almost picked a fight with him over something stupid and Emmett made it clear that he didn't approve of my boyfriend. I didn't talk to them for the next few days and started sitting with James and his friends instead. Now I wished that I had listened to them.

"Rosalie, stop it," Alice scolded. "It's always great to see you, Bella." She smiled and scooted her things over so I could sit next to her. I sat down and took a bite of my pizza. After a few more bites, I realized how quiet everyone was and that they were all staring at me expectantly.

"Uh, why are you guys staring at me?" I asked.

"Bella, I don't think you've even said a word to me in the past week," Jasper said. "Why do you suddenly want to hang out with us again?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "I talk to you guys all the time."

"No you don't," Edward shook his head. "You haven't returned any of my calls since you started dating James. You're supposed to be my best friend and you hardly ever say "hi" anymore." Tears started coming to my eyes and my lip quivered. They were right. I was so hung up on James that I didn't even bother to hang out with my own friends anymore.

"Well, if you guys are just going to yell at me, I'll go." I stood up and started to pick up my tray, but Edward grabbed my wrist to stop me. I flinched and quickly pulled away, remembering the incident from last night that I had tried so hard not to think about. Edward gave me a strange look, but seemed to forget about it once Alice started talking.

"Wait," she said. "I'm sorry, Bella. We're all just surprised to see you. I've missed you." I sat back down and looked down at my tray.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore. I don't think I'll be hanging out with James anymore."

"What happened?" Edward asked. He sounded interested now. Flashbacks from the night before came to my mind and a shiver went down my spine. Should I tell them? What would they do if I did? And was it even worth causing a big deal over? James was obviously really angry when it happened, mainly because he didn't want me to say anything about his friend. It wasn't a big deal. I could break up with him and promise not to say anything and everything would be fine.

A hand on my shoulder took me from my thoughts and, as if he knew we were talking about him, James was there. I bit my lip and tried to hold it together.

"Hey, babe," he smiled at me. "What are you doing?"

"Uh..." I was at a loss for words. What should a girl say to her boyfriend the day after he punched her and she cried herself to sleep?

"She's sitting with us today," Emmett said with a straight face. The look in his eyes said _back away now or I'll mess up your face._

"Really?" James raised an eyebrow and looked at me questioningly.

"Uh, yeah." I forced a smile and hoped it didn't look as fake as it felt.

"All right. Just remember what I told you last night, okay?" He started playing with me hair and pulling at it slightly to remind me of when he had yanked it to make me look at him. He didn't want me to say anything to them. I nodded my head slowly and watched as he walked away. The whole table fell into a state of awkward silence and I saw Edward balling his hands into fists as he glared daggers into James's back. Emmett looked upset, as well, but he calmed down once he noticed that Edward was on the verge of picking a fight. Thankfully, he decided to start a new conversation that had nothing to do with James.

"So, are you guys ready for the Biology test today?" he asked. I nearly choked on my food.

"We have a test today?" Everyone looked at me with surprised looks on their faces.

"Bella Swan didn't study for a test?" Rosalie's voice was full of sarcasm.

"Seriously?" Emmett asked. "Even I studied for that, and I _never _study."

"That's very true," Rose confirmed with a nod. I groaned and put my head in my hands. I'd had other things on my mind the night before and completely forgot to study.

"Don't worry," Edward smiled at me. "I'll help you study if you help me with last night's History homework." My jaw dropped and I felt like crying again.

"We had homework?" Oh, God, what the heck was wrong with me? I was always on top of my school work and made good grades. This was going to ruin me. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I couldn't afford to get any failing grades, especially on a test over information that I knew close to nothing about.

"Dang, Bella, are you sick or something?" Jasper asked. "You look like you've been up all night, but you didn't even remember your homework?"

"I'm fine," I replied. I started searching through my backpack for my Biology notebook. I could always turn in my History homework the next day for a late grade; a test, on the other hand, is much harder to make up.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked as he wiped a tear I didn't even know was there from my face.

"Nothing," I sniffled. "I'm fine." _Stop crying! You don't want them to find out why you didn't do your homework._

"Why do I get the feeling that this isn't about homework?" Emmett asked. Edward seemed to agree and looked really angry.

"What did he do? Did he try to make you do something you didn't want to do?" I shook my head. He didn't even have to say the name for everyone to know he was talking about James.

"No, nothing like that. We just had a disagreement and I think I'm going to break up with him. Nothing serious."

"It sounds pretty serious if you're breaking up with him over it," Alice put in. "What aren't you telling us?"

"Look, I don't really want to get into details. You guys never liked him anyway, so don't worry about it."

"Bella-"

"Seriously, guys, I'm fine." Everyone was silent and just started eating again. I took another bite of my lunch and it took a minute for me to realize Edward was staring at me like he was trying to read my mind. I bit my lip and put my pizza down. He was going to find out, and once he did, he wasn't going to react very well. I wasn't very hungry anymore.

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Oh, Bella, if only you'd listened to your friends *sigh*. What do you guys think? Any ideas on what James is up to? The next chapter will be in the present, just so you know. Anyways, let me know your thoughts and ideas! I love you guys! :D


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